Dream Days
by IIonezerozero
Summary: The romance of a boy with bleached hair and a girl with blue eyes. A peaceful afternoon with no ghosts, no cults, no Heavenly Host. A relationship that's slightly awkward, nervous, but completely true. His feelings have reached her heart, and she reaches for him as well. Clumsily, their thoughts come together and gradually merge. Love blossoms between them.
1. Chapter 1

*DING DONG DANG DONG!

The school bell rings with its usual four notes into the orange sky.

Today the class rep of 2-9 stays behind after everyone else. Her right hand holds a pencil, filling in the duty roster on her desk. The left flicks through a stack of papers; prospective future surveys from the class.

They come around every year to help students choose what they want to do in life.

Her pencil stops before being laid down on the desk. The owner stretches like cat with a small sound before resting her elbows on her desk and her chin on her palms.

Afternoon sunlight warms her left side and a wave of drowsiness laps at her consciousness.

The door suddenly snaps open causing her eyes to do the same.

"Sorry. Here."

A blond boy walks over to her and holds out a slip of paper.

"Kishinuma-kun... You're late!"

She plucks the offered sheet from his hand and places it with the others on her left.

"My bad, my bad." He smiles. "You know my place is a while a way."

"This wouldn't be a problem if you remembered to bring it this morning." She pouts.

"It would be faster if I had my bi-"

"No, I'm not going to get your bicycle back from the school for you."

Kishinuma Yoshiki sighs helplessly as Shinozaki Ayumi turns away from him, still pouting.

The bike in question was confiscated earlier in the year by the gym teacher; Tsubota. Kisaragi Academy has strict rules for the allowance of bikes. Only students living a certain distance away are allowed to use them, and unfortunately Yoshiki's apartment was on the border of that limit.

The boy in question scratched his head as the girl in front of him continued to pout. Taking a look around, a surprised look appeared on his face.

"Where's everyone else?"

The classroom was empty. It had been for a while. As the color of the sky showed, it was long after classes had finished.

"Nakashima-san went home with Shinohara-san." Ayumi replied, still turned away from him. "She said something about returning a sleepover."

She also said something about a Yobai* and was swiftly smacked over the head by Naomi, but that wasn't worth mentioning.

"Hmm. What about Morishige, and Suzumoto?"

"They went to the drama club together." She huffed.

Suzumoto extracted another promise to eat crêpes from Morishige on their way out. As always, pink heart marks invisible only to the two of them were floating above their heads, protecting the glasses boy from the hard stares and depressed auras of the other guys in the class.

A hopeless smile crossed Yoshiki's face as he imagined the oblivious couple flirting their way down the hallway.

Some of the girls seemed to enjoy watching that sort of thing. The boys, as stated before, were either making silent death threats at Morishige in their minds or figuratively on their knees at having the class idol being taken. In the past, he might have joined them in their silent and secret jealousy for entirely different reasons. However, today it didn't seem to matter.

"I guess Satoshi had to take Yuka home, right?" He says as he puts his hand on his hip.

"That's right." Ayumi turns back, but only towards her desk. She continues to avoid Yoshiki's gaze. The stack of papers clacks against the plastic of the desk as she taps them on it, straightening them. Collecting them and the duty roster, she holds them to her chest before swiftly weaving her way through the desks to the door. Her pigtails struggle to catch up in the wind behind her.

Suddenly, she stops at the door.

"Well?" She turns back and meets his eyes.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Yes is enough!" She snaps before walking down the hallway, to the teacher's room.

The student left behind blinks, then smirks before chuckling once. He picks up his bag from his desk before picking up hers as well. She'd forgotten it in the rush to leave.

"Hey, wait a little! Shinozaki!" Calling after her, he jogs his way out the classroom and down the hall.

He catches up to her in the hallway just as she had begun to turn back to the classroom. Frowning, she snatches it out of his hand and turns back down the hall. A helpless smile crosses his face and he sighs before jogging to keep up.

"You could have gone home, ya know?"

She sniffs at his comment.

"We promised we'd go home together."

Yoshiki scratches his head.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yes, really!" She snaps back.

They walk down the orange hall in silence. Their shadows merge with the ones from the window sill as they walk, and the faint sounds of students playing baseball comes from outside. It's the school team. The PE teacher, Tsubota, shouts orders from the stands as they run drills.

Yoshiki glances out the window at him for a moment and snorts; thinking, "Even if he's a shitty teacher, he's still a teacher."

The two continue to walk towards the faculty room, a slightly uncomfortable silence between them.

Upon reaching it, Ayumi announces herself before sliding open the door.

"Oh, Shinozaki-san." Their assistant homeroom teacher looks up from a stack of papers she was grading. "You were still here?" Shishido Yui says glancing at the clock.

"Yes, because somebody forgot their prospective future survey form at home." Ayumi replies with a smile. Yoshiki scratches his head behind her.

"You could have handed them in tomorrow morning." Yui smiles helplessly and takes both the stack of forms and duty roster from her. "But, thanks anyways."

The students leave the room as the teacher returns to grading. She calls after them to take care as they cross the doorframe, and they give their own well wishes towards her as well.

Ayumi's mood doesn't improve as they cross the school gates and walk down the street. The cause of it preserves a dignified silence as he walks next to her.

Finally, they reach a junction; the junction their two paths are supposed to diverge. Straight on leads into the middle of the city and to the place Yoshiki works at. Taking a left turn leads further into the suburbs.

Ayumi stops at the lamp post, before suddenly opening her bag and holding a package wrapped in a handkerchief.

"Here."

Yoshiki blinks.

"What's this?"

The orange light hides the blood rushing into Ayumi's cheeks.

"It's food." She looks away. "You're always complaining about not having time to cook dinner when you get back from your shift... so here." She shakes the parcel again.

Yoshiki blinks again, and makes a nervous expression.

"Sorry, I don't need it."

Her pig tails suffer whiplash as her head turned to glare at him.

"No, that's not what I mean!" He tries to explain with both hands held up in front of him. "I don't have work today, so I don't need it."

Blue eyes blink in surprise before the cheeks beneath them grow red enough that even the afternoon sun can't hide them.

"But I'll still take them! I don't have anything to eat at home anyways." Snatching the wrapped food out of her quaking hands, he stows it in his bag.

He peeks at her face.

Her blue eyes are slightly wet. Her white cheeks are crimson.

"Shinozaki, are you... crying?"

She turns away from him.

"No, I'm not."

Her voice quakes a little, and she sniffs right afterwards.

Yoshiki sighs, then puts a hand on her head. Gently, he tousles her hair.

"Don't cry over something like this." He gives a hopeless smile as he says it. "I know you're a crybaby, but people are going to think I've been bullying you at this rate."

With her face turned away from him, Yoshiki doesn't see her embarrassed expression turn into a scowl. She whirls around, reaching for his shirt, and receives a face full of handkerchief instead.

"Oh, sorry!" Yoshiki apologizes as Ayumi rubs her nose, slightly tender from the impact.

She looks at him, and he holds up the handkerchief like a peace offering.

Snatching it out of his hand, she blows her nose on it loudly.

"You were going to use my shirt as a kerchief again, weren't you." Yoshiki sighs and she looks away a little guiltily. "My grades may be bad, but it's not like I'm braindead or something."

Ayumi glares at him sulkily for a moment before blinking in surprise, as if she just realized something. A slight blush quickly appears on her cheeks a moment later, and she hurriedly hands him back the piece of cloth at her nose. Yoshiki stuffs it back into his pocket, not noticing the lingering blush.

"So, if you don't have work, what are you going to do?" Her voice is a lot gentler, the usual tone she uses at school.

"Well, I don't have anything planned..." He mumbles as he scratches his head. "But, I do have some of these."

Opening his bag again, he rummages around for something before taking out some slips of paper.

They're bookstore coupons; the type you'd find during shopping sales, or as a sales gift.

"Some guy at work had some extra, so I got these off him." He said sheepishly. "I know it's not much, but do you want to visit a bookstore or something on the way home? My treat, of course."

Ayumi blinks in surprise.

"I'm okay with that, but won't you be bored, Kishinuma-kun?"

"Hey, it's not like I can't read or something."

"But, you don't do well in Japanese literature at all."

"That's because the books we deal with are old and boring, not my literacy skills."

"Then, what will you read there then?"

"I dunno, a magazine perhaps?"

"A magazine?"

Ayumi frowns.

"A perverted one?" She looks at him suspiciously.

"As if!" He retorts.

Her frown quickly turns into a giggle.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just teasing you."

Yoshiki sighs and scratches the back of his head thinking, 'For a moment, I thought she was serious.'

"As I said, as long as you're fine with it, I don't mind." She reaches towards him and he makes to hand her the coupons, but her fingers curl around his hand instead.

"Come, let's go."

"Y-yeah."

Yoshiki saves the coupons from being crumpled just in time, and stuffs them into his pocket. His face is a little nervous, but quickly loosens as the boy and the girl walk down the street, hand in hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** A side project sort of related to Aftermath. I'm trying my hand at writing only romance scenes, and hopefully it worked. Ayumi's probably a bit more than a little Tsundere in this story, but she tends to be a bit sterner when Yoshiki is around.

Besides telling scary stories, Ayumi's hobbies including reading and drawing. On top of that, settings like theme parks and aquariums have been used over and over again. Anyways a date (which is what Yoshiki has gotten himself into) can happen pretty much anywhere.

To be honest, it was either a book store or an art museum in terms of location. Going to an art museum is going to take more than an afternoon, and I wanted this to be a casual/spontaneous sort of thing.


	2. An afternoon walk

**Yoshiki – Real World – February 9th, 2009**

Shinozaki and I walked towards the sun. At first she was dragging me along, but I quickly caught up with her. Her face was beaming in the orange light. It's her favorite color. Maybe that's why she brings so many candles with her. The flame on the wick is the same color as the afternoon.

I look at her out of the corner of my eye. She's still holding my hand. The slight jog she had started off with has slowed to a gentle walk. My legs are longer than hers, so it's no problem either way.

She seems a lot happier than before. The grumpy feeling I was getting from her disappeared when she learned I didn't have work today. Was that why she was angry earlier?

I can't stop the small smile working its way across my face.

Shinozaki wanted to spend time with me.

The idea alone makes my chest feel light and face hot.

Even though I made her waste her time, the thought of her waiting for me feels good. I'm not making it a habit though.

Still, this feeling is special to me; the feeling that you matter to someone. That's how I started liking Shinozaki in the first place.

I'm not a people person.

Most of what I say pisses people off, or gets ignored.

I guess nothing hurts more than the truth.

Back then, in that bathroom, I just hated everything. It wasn't a feeling of anger or vengeance, just a dark sticky disgust at everything.

It all seemed pointless. It didn't matter what I did or who I talked to. Nothing changed, and nobody cared.

I was smoking with those thoughts, watching the grey fumes rise into the air.

Shinozaki saved me that time. Not just from Tsubota, but from that feeling as well.

After that incident, I ended up watching her from afar. It's not every day you see what looks like an honor student lie to a teacher's face.

At first, she just looked like a total busy body. Always helping someone out, or poking her nose into someone else's business. Still, nobody seemed to be bothered by that. Both her, and the people she helped were smiling by the end of whatever she got herself involved in. Now that I think about it, I was smiling when she helped me as well.

She wasn't perfect though.

The first sign were the candles. At first, I couldn't figure out why I sometimes saw her with a massive bundle of them. She always had a really satisfied grin on her face at those times.

The lights of the classroom she was in at the time sometimes winked out without warning, so I thought she was just being overly prepared with them. But, the number of candles she had was definitely overkill. It looked like she planned to light up the entire room with them.

While passing by her classroom during one of its black outs, I saw a single candle glowing inside. A bunch of dark figures surrounded it, facing another shadowy outline. They looked like worshipers of some evil cult before some dark ancient god; a god with two downward pointing horns on the back of its head and glassy blue eyes.

I vaguely remember running down the hallway after that with goosebumps allover, and then waking up in detention for running in the hallway. That was probably the one time Shinozaki got me into trouble. After that, I noticed how her classmates often left the room looking more than a little nervous whenever the lights were off. It took me a week to ask one of them what she was doing in there.

And that's how I learned of the Class-rep of the Ghost Stories.

Well, it was a much better hobby than smoking, and I wasn't that bothered either. Ghost stories never really got to me in the past. I usually just snorted at them. Shinozaki tried telling me a couple when we became classmates, but she stopped after a while muttering, "Kishinuma-kun doesn't react at all."

"Kishinuma-kun." Shinozaki's voice breaks me out of my reflection.

She's looking up at me. Half her faces the sun while the other half is in shadow. A slight wind lifts up her hair. The slightly nervous look of her upturned eyes tickles something inside me.

"Hmm, what is it?" I look down at her.

I can tell I'm smirking.

I can't help it.

What would you do if the girl you liked looked up at you like that?

The wind tousling her hair blows towards me, bringing the faint scent of soap and tulips*.

Is this it? The mood feels pretty good at the moment. Do I wait for her to close her eyes, or do I just go in like this?

"You're squeezing my hand."

"... Sorry."

She turns back to the road.

...

Phew, thank god I didn't jump the gun. She's still holding my hand, so it's still progress compared to the past. At least, that's what I tell myself, while another me inside my head furiously bashes his head against a wall in embarrassment.

As we go into the city center, we pass a bunch of people exiting a building. It looks like there was some sort of concert inside from the number of people with used glow sticks and logoed T-shirts.

"Wasn't it fun, Aiko-san?" I hear one of them call out.

She's a cute looking girl with wavy brown hair. There are two other girls by her wearing the same clothes as her. It's probably their uniform. A white collared shirt with a red necktie under a purplish suit jacket. The bottom is a black pleated skirt.

"It was an interesting experience." The girl next to her says.

She has blue ribbons tied to her free, long, black hair. Our eyes meet for a moment. They're a pretty purple, sort of like Yui-sensei's.

"Really?!" The girl with the brown hair jumps in front of her, and the eye contact breaks. "You weren't jumping with us on the choruses so I thought you were bored."

"Don't worry, Sayaka." the third girl of the group comments. She wears glasses, and has her hair cut short like a guy's. "She was probably worried her breasts would pop out of her shirt if she jumped around too much."

The girl with the long hair smiles at the insult. "I'd be insulted if it wasn't such an obvious case of sour grapes."

The girl called Naho, clicks her tongue and looks away. "Anyways, Aiko's just that sort of person." A sigh follows soon after.

"I'm surprised you were so into it, Naho-chan. I thought you didn't like crowds."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing much, just remembering how much you've changed since I first met you."

"You're talking like an old woman, Aiko."

"I am your senior, you know?"

"By only one year. Anyways, if you're my senior at least act like it. You're barely attending the number of days required to graduate."

"With permission, of course." The girl called Aiko says, not troubled in the slightest. "You skip quite often as well."

"That's for work." Naho replies with a frown.

"And so it is for my absence as well." Aiko continues breezily. "By the way, how much did you manage to make off of your latest publication?"

Naho clicks her tongue loudly and looks away. "You already know."

"Yes, I do." Aiko says with a victorious smirk. "But, I'd like to hear it from your mouth."

"Hey, Naho-chan." The girl called Sayaka, who's descended to the level of third wheel in this conversation, interrupts. "What are you talking about?"

Pointing a thumb at the still smirking girl, Naho sighs and says, "Aiko, suddenly started this competition with me on her own." Giving the person in question the stink eye, she continues. "Whoever makes more money than the other in a given space of time gets to order the other around for a day."

"And, this time I was the winner." Aiko leers at Naho. "So, I get to have Naho-chan do anything I want for a whole day."

"S-stop saying it like that!" The soon to be victim, visibly shaken, exclaims.

"A-a whole DAY! Naho-chan! Anything you want?!" Sayaka, in a visible state of panic and tears in her eyes latches onto Naho's arm. "Naho-cha~n! I don't want that! ! ! Naho-chan is my Naho-chan!"

"Oh my, I guess this is what they call NTR** isn't it?" Chuckling, Aiko pours more oil on the emotional fire.

"AIKO!" Naho shouts.

At this point, there's a visible timer counting down above Sayaka's head before an explosion of tears comes from her.

"S-sayaka! Calm down! Calm down, okay?" Naho hurriedly takes Sayaka into her arms and looks into her face. "Now that I've met this month's deadline I've got some free time, so let's go on a date next weekend."

"Really?" Sniffs Sayaka. "Will you do anything I say during that time as well?"

"W-well, within reason..."

"Yay! Naho-chan, thank you! Meroha~~~n***! ! !" Tears completely gone, a glomp follows soon after threatening to send both glomper and glompee to the ground.

"Kishinuma-kun?" Shinozaki looks up at me quizzically.

I'd slowed down unconsciously, watching the three girls.

"Sorry, got distracted. Let's go."

We continue on our way, as they do theirs.

* * *

 **A/N:** Some scenes of how Yoshiki grew to like Ayumi before they were in the same class. Probably the one time Ayumi has managed to scare Yoshiki by telling a ghost story.

Also, Aiko being Aiko. Naho accepted partially from being goaded by Aiko, and the chance to wipe the smirk off her face was too good to pass up. **  
**

As always, here are the explanations for some of the words

tulips*:

In Japan, tulips symbolize compassion. In western culture, tulips symbolize fame and perfect love. However, the color of the tulip changes the meaning. An orange tulip (which is the main color of the setting, and the color that Ayumi likes.) symbolizes energy, enthusiasm, desire, and passion. I thought it was a fitting flower to link to her. Also, I haven't heard of many tulip based perfumes; it's always roses or lavenders. oTZ

NTR**

Short for Netorare. It's a fetish where a the lover, spouse, girl/boyfriend is taken away from the MC. It translates to "cuckoldry" in English. I don't think Aiko is a lesbian, but she's not above sexually harassing other females. I guess she just likes teasing (read as "victimizing" or "bullying") other people.

Meroha~~~n***:

Sayaka's catch phrase. She makes this sound whenever she's excited by something. Naho calls it "Sakaya-nese" (like Japanese, but exclusive to Sayaka). It's for the Corpse Party CEMETERY manga and novel. Again, I don't think any of the girls of Paulownia Academy are homosexual, just overly fond of each other. (Well, excluding Aiko.) Naho likes Kibiki, and Sayaka has the same reaction to virtually anything cute. The target of her attention just happens to be other girls, most of the time.

Also, I forgot to define a word in the previous chapter.

Yobai*

It translates to "midnight creeping". It's when a man visits a woman in the middle of the night and makes his intentions known. If the woman accepts, they sleep together. Contrary to popular belief (which portrays Yobai as a form of rape), this was actually encouraged by some families on both sides in order to secure political or marriage bonds. In this situation, the man is marrying into the woman's family as he has gone to the woman to ask her permission.

It wasn't something that was done in secret, but at the same time not actively announced either. Both families usually knew a Yobai had been done as well so it wasn't a shameful act. Part of the reason this practice was theorized to exist was the lack of a "one husband, one wife" mentality in some villages, allowing marriages with multiple partners. Yobai's were fairly common in those areas apparently and a fact of life.

A more sinister sounding side of this activity exists in records of some farming villages. There are stories and records of an "all the girls and widows of the village are the common property of the village." mentality existing in some places. Very specific rules of the usage of virgins and the wives of other men existed, with great variety between villages. However, this does not mean women were abused or mistreated. In fact, women still had the right to refuse and the rules were supposedly more for the prevention of fights between men.

Yobai gained a bad reputation due to an event known as the "Tsuyama massacre" in 1938.

This even took place in the village of Kaio, a relatively rural village. Mutsuo Toi (this is the western way of writing it, so first name first, surname last) strapped two flashlights to his head and murdered 30 people with an axe, a Japanese sword, and a browning shotgun before shooting himself in the chest with the shotgun. That was about half of the population of the village.

The mass media reported that the incident occurred due to the "Extremely loose man and woman relationships that still remain deep in the mountains" or "the result of highly specialized male female relationships in the mountains where few pleasures exist" and called him a hypersexualised deviant

His suicide note explained that he committed this crime due to two women, who had a sexual relation ship with him yet married another man, had come back to the village and it was the best chance to murder them. He lamented that "he had failed to shoot/kill the ones he wanted to shoot/kill, and had shot/killed the ones he shouldn't have shot/killed." Apparently, one of these woman slept around with many men even though she was a widow for their money.

His suicide note apologized for his actions and called for society to try to empathize with tuberculosis patients instead of isolating them.

Interviews with villagers many years later anecdotally confirmed he was being ostracized by the village due to suffering from tuberculosis (an incurable disease at the time). He was betrothed to a childhood friend, but that engagement was broken due to outside pressure as he was suffering from tuberculosis. She married another man. (Just to clarify, this childhood friend was not one of the women who he had a vendetta against, and he did not attempt to kill her. He had relationships with many women, but they became very cold to him when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.)

Seiko, of course, used the the word pretty much in the way most people 'think' it means. i.e. she said she was going to go creep on Naomi. Naomi responded by karate chopping her on the head.


	3. At the book store and the walk home

The book shop we reached was a medium sized one. It had a selection of manga magazines, cooking magazines, and news magazines out in front with some new best sellers. A few other students and one or two adults were browsing through the selection, seeing if there was anything interesting to read. Shinozaki started walking past the shelves, inspecting the titles on their spines.

"The horror section is over there." I point at a row of shelves deeper in the shop.

She frowns at me, before sighing heavily.

"Kishinuma-kun, I read things other than ghost stories you know." Giving me a disappointed look, she continues looking through the books in front of her.

"Right..." I move to leaf through the magazines. Then notice they've all been tied up with nylon string. A glance at the shop keeper shows him smirking victoriously at me, before switching his attention to the small TV in front of him.

Well, it's not like this is unusual. The only place that allow people to read magazines before buying them are convenience stores. Book shops and newspaper stands tend to have them tied up nowadays. Still, I now have nothing to do while Shinozaki looks for something she wants.

I could go in after her, but I don't want to be hovering behind her while she chooses something. There's nothing that really catches my eye at the moment, not that I read much anyways.

Shinozaki puts back a book she was leafing through. As she does, our eyes meet.

"What's wrong?" She walks over to me.

"Hm? Oh... Well..." I nod at the tied up magazines. "Guess I'm in a bit of a bind."

"What's that, a pun?" She sighs, before walking back into the shop. Halfway in, she turns back and beckons to me. The way her hand moves looks like she's coaxing a cat towards her.

"What?"

"Come here." She orders.

Scratching my head, I walk over.

"I can't concentrate if you're just standing out there looking at me." She quickly picks up a different book and starts going through it.

... Well, it's not like I had anything to do. Still, I swear she's always been a little harsher with me than everyone else. She's usually more comfortable with the girls of our class than the boys, but she always seems a little extra grumpy when she's with me.

Sighing, I pick a book off the shelf at random.

Guess it can't be helped. Socially, I'm a delinquent and she's a class-rep. Usually, we're supposed to be at each other's necks or something. I won't go so far as to say the relationship we have now is taboo or anything, but maybe she's annoyed by it.

I look down at her. Her neck is exposed; a patch of white between her pigtails and the collar of her uniform. Slender and smooth, it looks comfortable to touch.

...

I turn back to the book. Calm down Yoshiki. This is a public place. Besides that, touching her like that would probably freak her out.

But it's too late. Now that I've noticed her neck, I can't stop thinking about it; the gentle smell of her hair, the softness of her skin... All right next to me, within hand's reach.

Dammit, the words are all starting to blend together. I can't even tell if I'm holding the book the right way up!

The thought of burrowing my face in the nape of her neck and sucking in her smell keeps filling my head. My mouth waters slightly at the thought of licking its base. The silky feeling of her hair going through my fingers, and the sweet sound of her voice...

"Kishinuma-kun?"

"Hue?"

Crap. My voice kept out funny. What were you supposed to do when you want to hide something? Look them in the eye? Say something before they can?

"What's wrong, your face is bright red."

She looks into my face, a slightly worried expression on her face.

H-hold on, this isn't that sort of setting. Sure this position looks really cute, and her lips are pretty close, but this isn't the time.

"Are you alright? Does your head hurt?"

"N-no, everything's fine."

I put on a smile.

This is bad.

Usually, the way this goes is that the girl asks if the guy's alright, then they check their temperature with their hand or something.

But, if she touches me now, I'll definitely want to touch her back.

The thought of the impending feeling of her cool fingers against my forehead focusses all my nerves on her hand.

"If you say so." Shinozaki shrugs then, goes back to reading.

...

Well, this is good in a way. If she did do what I thought she would do, I would have done something I might have regretted.

I don't want to hurt her. I owe her too much to do that.

She doesn't want to do those sorts of things yet. I won't force her to do them.

As long as I can be with her, as long as I can see her smile... then, that's enough for me.

Shinozaki's happiness is my happiness. If she wants to do something, all I have to do is help her where I can.

'No matter what'

That's my vow, my purpose.

It's not like I'm bitter about what just happened at all!

Eventually, Shinozaki seemed to find a book she liked and we bought it. To be honest, it felt a bit cheap having her find her own present, but I'd hate to buy something only to find out she already had it or didn't want it.

The book she bought ended up being a book related to the occult. I guess she couldn't resist in the end. She glared at me when I lightly teased her about it.

As we leave the shop and head for the suburbs, I looked down at her again. She's leafing through the book she just bought. A small brown book with what looks like a skull face on it.

"Still, that's one creepy book you managed to find." I comment. "What was it called again? 'The Book of Shadows'?"

"That's right." She says, her eyes not leaving the pages. "It's got all sorts of charms and spells in it. They say the original was written by the witches in Europe during the witch hunts, to preserve their knowledge. Passed down along their lineages the Book of..."

She starts going on and on about the history of the book she's holding. I managed to keep up for the first 10 minutes, but when she started bringing up the dates of the various trials and burnings my brain overloaded.

In the past, I might have gotten tired and asked her to stop. Now, it's strangely soothing just listening to her talk. I might not get what she's saying, but simply listening is enough. There's no reason to stop her, nothing I want to say. I put in the odd sound to show that I'm listening, and she seems happy. That's enough. It's not like she's going to test me on this stuff later.

My mind wanders as we walk; the two of us in the setting sunlight.

"Hey, Shinozaki."

"Hmm, what?"

She looks up at me, quizzical.

"When did we start hanging out like this?"

"Huh?" She frowns. "What are you saying all of a sudden?"

Oh, oops. I guess she figured out I wasn't really listening. She's reeeaaaaallly glaring at me…

"Sorry, it just sort of popped into my head, ya know?"

She gives me one final glare, before sighing and pinching her chin with her thumb and forefinger.

"It was probably four months ago, wasn't it?"

"Was it?"

"It was!" She huffs. "You interrupted Yui-sensei's story, remember?"

"Oh… that."

It was the day Shinozaki got back to school after having to stay home due to a cold. It must have been a pretty bad one for her to be taken out of commission like that.

"You did my shift for the day duty that time, remember?"

"Now that you mention it…"

I walked in on the two of them when I was handing in the class journal. Yeah, Shinozaki gave me an annoyed glare back then. Something about her just about to get to the good part.

"Yui-sensei told me you filled in all the boxes and even wrote the class report."

"Well, I was trying to pretend to be you..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She frowns.

"Eh? Um… You'd just gotten back, right? I thought I'd take some of the load off your back so I filled it out for you."

Shinozaki stops and looks at me. The right side of her face is dyed orange from the sun, the other grey in the shadow.

"Do you remember what happened after that?" Her blue eyes stare into mine.

"Huh?"

"After you left the class journal, do you remember what happened?"

After I left the class journal? Wasn't it the end of the day? I think I just went home, or to work…

Ah, crap. I can't remember anything about it. Besides Shinozaki coming back to school, it was just another one of those days.

"Yui-sensei showed me the class journal." She smiles. "Remember how I thanked you the next day?"

"Oh, yeah."

Shinozaki turns away from me, and we start walking down the road, the sun at our backs.

"You did an okay job with filling in the class journal, and did all the things we had to do. That's why I started having you help me with the odd thing here and there, remember?"

"Hmm… so that's why you started talking to me more often back then."

The things she asked me to do were small. 'Move this desk with me', or 'sort this half of paperwork'. Ordinary day duty tasks that either of us could have done alone, but she asked me to help her.

"I did regret it when I asked you to wipe the board with me though." She sighs.

"Ah…"

She once asked me to help her wipe the blackboard. The idea was; I'd do the top half, and she'd do the bottom half. However, I forgot to check the blackboard eraser I was using. I guess the last guy to use it hadn't cleaned it. Next moment I knew, Shinozaki was covered in chalk dust.

"Anyways, you stuck with me during all those times, right? That's why I decided I could probably trust you a bit more."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You're the type who falls asleep or skips any class which doesn't interest you, right? I can't ask a slacker to do a job for me. What would happen if you just quit halfway through?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad…"

"Talk is cheap. Anyways, I said I decided to trust you in the end, didn't I? That's why I started having you help out with some class-rep duties."

I sigh. She's got a point. I'm trusted now, so who cares about what happened then?

As she said, after a few weeks of us doing our day duty jobs together, she started asking me to help with some of her class-rep jobs. There were a few wolf whistles in the class after people noticed how often she was asking me for help. I was called the class reps dog for a while as well. Well, those rumors died out thanks to Satoshi and the rest. But…

"I don't think helping another class with their school festival event is a class-rep duty."

"What are you talking about?" She huffs. "We finished our class's preparations early. What's wrong with helping others?"

"The fact that you loaned me to another class."

One of the classes Shinozaki went to help was having a mini-concert. However, one of their guitarists was sick. They asked her if she knew anyone who played a guitar. I just happened to be next to her, so when she looked troubled I said I might be able to help. Back then, they were just talking about how they couldn't rehearse without a guitarist. I thought I was just standing in for the guy during these rehearsals. Imagine my surprise when I ended up playing the guy's part at the festival. The guy was still sick, so it couldn't be helped.

But seriously… I felt like I was being sold off when she shoved a costume into my hands and pushed me into a different class.

"You would have just been bored ladling out Oshiruko* with us. Anyways, you looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"Well, it wasn't bad."

After the festival, people who used to avoid me started saying hello when I passed. The guys who had played at the festival with me asked me to join the school's music club. I became a stand in member, since I couldn't show up for practices as much. It suited me fine. I still have work, and I practice better alone. All I had to do was make sure I know my part well enough to fill in for one of the guitarists.

"And that hair actually came in handy once." She laughs. "It made you look like an actual rock star."

"Yeah." I nod, and scratch my head. "But I don't think I'll keep it."

She nods, "Yup, you look better with black hair."

"How do you know?" I snort.

"Anyways." She ignores my question. "I guess I have to thank you again for taking my shift for the day duty."

"Huh? What for?"

"Because I talked to you more, I was able to do something I haven't done for a long time." A slight wind tousles her hair from behind.

"Hmmm… What was that?"

"Talk to my father."

We continue in silence for a few steps.

"Did you have a problem with him?" I ask finally.

"A little, but I was able to get over it a little by talking to you."

"Was it because I told you about my fight with my father?"

She nods, "But… it was probably a little more than that."

"Oh…"

Another silence, filled with only our footsteps and the cries of a crow in the distance.

"Well, glad I could help." I tell her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the slight delay in release. Was meant to be out on Wednesday, but was busy with RL.

Also, technically Ayumi didn't buy a ghost story related book. The Book of Shadows is a spell book, not about ghosts or spirits (although it might have stuff about how to summon/control them so maybe it's related in that way?).

Oh, btw the song Yoshiki was preforming was "Future in my hands" from the DMC anime OST.

Oshiruko*

This is the red-bean soup that the class of 2-9 was selling during the Kisaragi Festival. In the Blood Covered manga, Yoshiki was actually bored since he was just sitting in a chair with his arms behind his head and feet on a table.


	4. Denial

The afternoon sun is behind us. Our shadows stretch down the street, as if leading us home. A small group of children run past giggling, one of them holding a weird black doll to her chest. Another bunch, this time composed of high school students appears around the corner before heading to the city center. The guys wear purple blazers and blue striped neckties along with the usual collared shirts and black pants. The girls have green sailor uniforms.

They're an odd bunch.

Most of them look normal, but two of the guys are hanging at the back playing games and there's one real flashy looking one with red hair and earrings. He's trying to get the attention of the tallest one of their group, but the person in question is speaking on a cellphone and ignoring him completely. The guy on the cellphone sticks out the most, literally. He's almost a head taller than anyone else and has his jacket slung over one shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll meet at the train station... No, I don't mind if Kobayashi tags along. If push comes to shove, I'll take care of her." He says the last bit with an evil grin, and a sporty looking one in the group punches his arm and tells him to stop. When he moves to glare at the guy who punched him, he notices me staring. A brief moment passes, then he snorts and continues on his way.

As we near Shinozaki's house, two people are just leaving.

"Sister!" Shinozaki shouts, and then dashes up to them.

"Welcome home, Ayumi-chan." A gentle looking woman says.

Shinozaki Hinoe, she's here as well.

Even though she spends most of her time at the institute she's working at, she still visits regularly.

I look at the guy next to her.

"What?" He glowers at me.

"'What' yourself." I retort.

The green haired asshole in front of me is Kiriya Misuto. He snorts and blows a bubble with his chewing gum at my face. I'm half tempted to pop it so it goes all over him, but last time I did that I got scolded by Shinozaki. It wasn't all that bad though. I got to watch Misuto get told off like a little kid by Hinoe as well.

"Kishinuma-kun."

Just as I was wondering whether it was worth popping Misuto's bubble again, Shinozaki calls my name. She's glaring at me suspiciously.

"Relax, we're just saying hello."

Misuto snorts at that, and sucks in his bubble gum.

"Let's go, Hinoe."

He starts walking down the street.

"Sorry. Let's talk again later, Ayumi-chan."

She catches up to him and the two start talking again.

Ayumi looks on at the two with a frown.

"So, you don't like him either, do you?" I ask.

She nods and sighs.

"But he's a patient of hers, so we can't stop him meeting her." She sighs. "I just hope sister's got something planned to get him to give up."

That's right. Kiriya Misuto likes Ayumi's sister. Sure she's a beautiful woman, but she's probably almost 10 years older than him, not to mention that an asshole like him doesn't deserve a woman like her. Still, as a guy who spent almost a year with a one-sided affection, I can't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Well, see you tomorrow then."

I start down the street again. My place is further from school than hers. Actually, going to her place is a bit of a detour, but I don't really care.

"Kishinuma-kun."

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

She fidgets nervously for a moment.

"You still haven't written the report for tomorrow have you?"

"Well, yeah... but how do you know?"

She blinks, then sighs.

"We talked about it at lunch, remember? The same time you promised to go home with me."

"Did I?"

I don't remember, but if she knows I guess I must have said something like that.

"You said you'd do it this evening, but you didn't go to the lesson about it yesterday or today, right?" She frowns at me. "That's why I suggested we do it this afternoon on the way home."

"Really?"

I don't remember anything like that all. Then again, I was pretty sleepy today. I'm only this alert since I took a nap during the afternoon period. I guess the lesson she's talking about must have been during my nap.

Oh, that's why she was so mad when I showed up late. She thought I wouldn't have time to do the report since I usually spend the evening working. The fact that I broke my promise definitely didn't improve her mood. I guess I didn't say that I had asked for a break from work to do the report when she asked me about it.

"Yes, really!" She pouts again.

"Sorry, I must have been really out of it at the time." I scratch my head. "I've got the rest of the day off, so I'll probably get it done."

Whether it's done well is a different matter.

"I don't think you can get a good grade like that." Shinozaki sighs as she reads my mind. "I've got the rest of the day free as well, so I'll help you."

"Oh, thanks..."

"'Oh, thanks'? Is that the best you can say?"

"Ah, umm... My bad. Thanks a lot, Shinozaki. You're a great help!"

"Of course I am. I'm not your class-rep just for show!"

She smiles victoriously, while I clap in the background.

"But, where are we going to do it?" She looks at me, surprised then frowns. Assuming her usual thinking position, pinching her chin with her left hand, she tilts her head a little. Suddenly, she blinks then blushes slightly. Clearing her throat, she faces me.

"Well, you've escorted me home already and bought me a present." She mumbles. "So, how about doing it at my house?"

Shinozaki's house...

"You sure?"

She nods.

"Both my parents are out, so we can use the dining table."

I look up at the place in question.

It's an ordinary looking two story house, a set of walls and a gate separate the yard from the street. There's not much yard in the front, but it wraps around the left side of the house to the back. A brown door rests within a rectangular depression of the house, forming a sort of miniature porch. Two windows are on either side of this porch, and an intercom is on the left side of the doorframe; a placard holding a nameplate with the name 'Shinozaki' above it. The door itself has a window built into it too, but the glass is so bumpy you can't make out what's on the other side. It's like staring through a rippling lake.

Beyond this door, there's a single hallway with a flight of stairs leading up at the end. There are four doors on this hallway, two on each side. The bathroom is the first door on the left. The second one second one leads into the living, kitchen, and dining area. Hinoe's room is the first one on the right, and Ayumi's is the second one on the right.

"Kishinuma-kun?"

A fancy car passes behind us. The window is rolled down and a girl with ice blue eyes glances at me from inside. Her blond hair is in two twin tails. She's dressed like a princess, or a doll.

"Sorry... I guess I'm still a little out of it." I smile helplessly as I scratch my head.

Shinozaki's house... I haven't been here before. She never invited me until now.

That's why this will be the first time I'll go into her house.

"Sure, why not." I nod at her as she looks at me worriedly.

"Alright, but if you don't feel well you can always refuse." She says as she opens the gate. "If it's something serious, I can help you apply for special circumstances, you know? We can probably get you an extension for the assignment, although you'll have to see a doctor first."

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

I step in after her.

As I enter the miniature porch, I see something out of the corner of my eye.

It's a woman. A woman dressed in black pants, and white collared shirt. She has blue eyes and black hair like Shinozaki, but her hair is in a ponytail.

I see a small smile on her face.

Then she's gone.

Nobody is there.

Shinozaki San no longer existed in that spot.

I close my eyes and continue walking.

I don't know Niwa Aiko.

I've never seen that black doll.

I haven't met Kizami Yuuya.

I don't recognize who he was talking to. I have no idea who that girl was. I didn't see that woman. I haven't seen past this door. I don't remember that book. I don't. I don't. I...

A single heartbeat, unbelievably loud, rings in my ears.

I open my eyes, and the world has changed.

The afternoon sun is gone. Now, the moon lights the earth in its place; a faint white glow turning the world black and grey.

"Kishinuma-kun."

Shinozaki stands in the doorway of the house.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaand that's the end...

Nah, just kidding. (Or am I? I am fueled by reviews *wink *wink)

This section was released on schedule. The one before this one had to be delayed due to the addition of a scene, but this one made it here without many changes.

It's also the chapter that gave me the most trouble while I was writing it all those weeks ago. (Additionally, it made me realize that, no matter what, I just can't resist writing horror.) (Oh, but the pairing is safe though. (Relatively speaking. (Or maybe not. Fueled by reviews, remember?)))

Here are some of the unused bits of text that were written while I was figuring out how things should go.

Originally, Yoshiki was meant to go into Shinozaki's house, but I gave up on the idea since it made things too complicated. (At the time, I was still figuring out a way to get him to be invited into her house. However, even after I came up with an excuse for him to do so, the really big reveal of him knowing the layout of a house that he had never been to before was too big to just ignore and waltz in. (Ignoring the fact that he almost did do just that...))

* * *

 **Unused Text 1: Takes place after Yoshiki sees Shinozaki's house and is invited in**

A strange feeling goes over me.

Why do I know what's behind each door?

Why did I just follow Shinozaki in as if it was normal?

"Kishinuma-kun." She calls me as she takes off her shoes. "Want something to drink?"

I shake my head.

Something is wrong. It doesn't fit. Why am I not going to my apartment?

"Okay." Shinozaki takes the action of me clearing my head, as a denial of her offer. "Just make yourself at home."

Leaving me behind at the entrance, she walks down the hallway and into the second door on the left. Shortly afterwards, the sound of rushing water comes as she pours herself a glass of tap water.

A single heartbeat, unbelievably loud, rings in my ears.

The world shifts slightly. Afternoon glow becomes moonlit night. The orange hallway turns black and grey. My vision becomes grainy, as if looking at an old TV screen.

Why am I here? Where's my apartment?

As if to answer my questions another image overlays my vision. a picture of a messed up room. The coffee table in the middle lies in two halves against the...

(Text terminated. Reason: Too many spoilers for Aftermath.)

* * *

 **Unused Text 2: Takes place after he is invited into the Shinozaki household**

Why am I here again?

A strange feeling passes over me. It's the same feeling that keeps causing me stop and stare at some of the people on the street.

"Kishinuma-kun." She calls me as she takes off her shoes. "Want something to drink?"

I shake my head.

Something is wrong. It doesn't fit. Why am I not going to my apartment? If I'm still a student at Kisaragi, then I should still be living there.

"Okay." Shinozaki misinterprets my movements. "Just make yourself at home."

Leaving me behind at the entrance, she walks down the hallway and into the second door on the left. Shortly afterwards, the sound of rushing water comes as she pours herself a glass of tap water.

I feel dizzy all of a sudden, and my head starts to hurt. A familiar feeling, but I don't remember feeling like this before.

I take off my shoes, and step into the hallway. The world shifts slightly. Afternoon glow becomes moonlit night. The orange hallway turns black and grey. My vision becomes grainy, as if looking at an old TV screen.

Shinozaki is in front of me, leading me inside.

The world returns to normal. I'm alone at the entrance, and the sound of running water stops. Shinozaki steps back into the hallway soon after.

"Kishinuma-kun?" She looks at me, quizzically. "What're you standing there for?"

I look at her face.

Static.

Blood flows out of her destroyed right eye and runs down her cheek. The hallway is gone, replaced with blackness spreading in all directions under a writhing, red, sky.

"Shinozaki..."

"What?"

She looks at me with both eyes; there's no blood, no blackness, no sky, just the white walls of the Shinozaki family home and the brown wooden flooring.

"Why did you let me into your house?"

I can't stop myself from asking.

As long as I can answer that, the rest will go away.

She frowns at me.

"What are you talking about? You've been living here ever since you had that fire in your apartment*, remember?"

Oh, yeah... that's right.

There was a fire, and my apartment got wrecked. Shinozaki offered to help me out, and I've been living here ever since.  
"Sorry, I must have been confused." I laugh it off as she gives me a worried look.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I just got a bit tangled up."

I take a step forward.

(Text terminated. Reason: Too many horror elements, Would take too long to bring up the paradox of Yoshiki having forgotten to bring his prospective future sheet even though he is living with Ayumi, it wouldn't make sense as he remembers having gone to his home to get it i.e. too suspicious from Yoshiki's PoV)

fire* - This is a reference to "Life at the Shinozaki's" by JDH1080. Congratz if you noticed. I was playing with an idea that JDH1080 suggested ages ago, but didn't fully work out in the end.)

* * *

 **Unused Text 3: Takes place as he is following Shinozaki down the hallway in her house**

I follow her through the door, and into the hallway. My socks pad across the wooden flooring, a little louder than hers, but with the same pat-pat sound. The still air of the house holds her aroma better than the air outside, allowing it to trails behind her slightly.

(Text terminated. Reason: All routes going into her house brings additional complications. Better to restart at point before entering house.)

(This text was the original reason I wanted to have him enter the house. Embarrassing. Yes, I know. (Well, not completely true. I also wanted to write an R-18 scene with the two of them (or a scene that fit the Saya no Uta OST, "Sin"), but all the extra work of getting them to that point just didn't seem worth it after a while. (Plus, I already have something like that for them planned elsewhere.))) It does get re-used in a different way later on, so none of the "Unused" bits really ended up becoming completely unused.


	5. Answers

**A/N:** Apologies, but half of the text here is actually taken by the A/Ns. Sorry for the misleading numbers.

* * *

A single heartbeat, unbelievably loud, rings in my ears.

I open my eyes, and the world has changed.

The afternoon sun is gone. Now, the moon lights the earth in its place; a faint white glow turning the world black and grey.

"Kishinuma-kun."

Shinozaki stands in the doorway of the house.

I can't see the hallway behind her. The white walls and brown floor are replaced with blackness.

No, there's something far off in the blackness; a flickering, orange light.

Kishinuma-kun."

She calls to me again.

I look at her.

She looks sad.

There are no tears, no ridges on her brow, but I can tell she's sad.

"I waited for a while you know." Her voice isn't accusing, merely stating a fact. "We were going to go to a small family restaurant or a fast food store and do our homework there."

"After that, I was going to hand you the food I made as you went off to work."

The world shrinks. A black void eats up the street. Soon, only the small piece of yard in front of Shinozaki's house is all that remains behind me.

"If that happened, we wouldn't have seen the people coming out of that concert, or passed those children on our way home."

She tilts her head slightly.

The bags are gone from our hands, and the moon has disappeared. Yet, somehow, we can still see each other and the space around us perfectly.

"Sister would still be on her way home, and Magari-san would have been giving a sermon to her followers."

I gulp.

I remember this place.

I remember it even though I don't want to remember it.

A place without time or space. A vast nothing that overwrites everything.

"Kishinuma-kun."

Shinozaki steps towards me and reaches for my face.

Her fingers reach behind my ear, brushing a lock of hair behind it, and trace my jawline; resting her palm on my cheek.

Her blue eyes stare up into mine. They water slightly and a single teardrop overflows as she blinks.

My arms wrap around her. My left hands holds her shoulder while the other pulls her head to my chest.

"It'll be okay Shinozaki." I pat her head lightly. "I'll do something about it."

She sniffs.

"You can give up, you know?"

I shake my head and squeeze her shoulder gently.

"I don't want to."

A single laugh comes out of her followed by a sniff. I can feel the wetness through my shirt.

"Your handkerchief has the same smell as you, you know?" Her voice is slightly muffled by my shirt.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine." She shakes her head, rubbing her face against my chest.

"Are you alright with it now?"

She nods in response.

"Well, I guess you can't smell much with your nose running like tha- OW!"

She had pinched my arm viciously, but quickly let go. Her palm gently rubs the sore skin, soothing it.

"I like it, your smell."

She says something in a whisper. I almost couldn't hear it. Her voice is already muffled by my shirt, saying something quietly doesn't help.

"You smell nice too." I smile.

She sniffs, and wraps her arms around me. For a while, we just stand there, holding each other in the darkness. My shirt is soaked, and has started to grow cold. Her face is burrowed in that, so it can't feel good for her either. Still, we hold onto each other; feeling each other's warmth, smell, and touch.

Eventually, she puts her hands on my chest and gently pushes us apart. My arms unwrap from her slowly, before resting on her shoulders.

Blue eyes meet grey.

"Sorry I made a mess of things." I apologize, truthfully and sadly.

"It's alright." She forgives me. "This is just a 'what if' of a 'what if'. It's not made to last, that's why all the memories have started jumbling together."

Memories... Yeah, that's why the people I'm supposed to know are here, even though I haven't met them yet.

The Kishinuma Yoshiki who is still a student of Kisaragi Academy has not met any of the people I noticed today, neither has he visited Shinozaki's house.

He's just a high school delinquent.

But, he was happy.

He may not have been completely free of worry, but he was probably happier than me. That's why I have this appearance. That's why we're both still wearing Kisaragi Academy's uniforms.

A massive bullhorn blares, and the world begins to shake. The last few patches of grass and stone disappear into the blackness.

I bring her to my chest again, trying to memorize as much of her as possible.

I have regrets. I want to stay here. But that won't solve anything. It's as she says. This is a what if of a what if.

A possibility of another possibility.

A choice of another choice.

It's the road that was never taken, and never existed.

We never went to Heavenly Host in this world. A small difference in events changed things.

An extra word from Yui-sensei, telling Shinozaki about the class journal.

A few daily tasks done together.

A small build in trust between us.

Those led to Shinozaki getting over her hidden fears.

Her dislike of men, the mask she showed to adults, and the fear of being physically close to me and others of my sex. Little by little they wore away, finally allowing her to talk to her father.

I guess it wasn't just that either.

The fact that the two of us got closer made people think we were a couple. Even though that wasn't true, it was enough to make Suzumoto come to Shinozaki for advice. She thought Shinozaki might be able to empathize with her, and talked to her about her father's job transfer.

Being able to talk to her father and being consulted by Suzumoto led to this route. A route where Shinozaki's father, Ayato, talked to Suzumoto's parents at a PTA meeting. This gave Suzumoto's mother the extra confidence to confront her husband about the the transfer causing him to resist it and stopped Suzumoto from having to leave.

Thus, this world exists. A world where none of our friends died.

No, the change might even before then, something even simpler than a few word.

A world without Heavenly Host. A world without the Curse of the Shinozaki. A world where a single girl wasn't bullied and victimized for seeing more than others could.

A dream. A wish. A memory. Call it what you want, but don't mock it.

Because this is where Saenoki Naho, Ooue Sayaka, and Niwa Aiko are still together.

Where a nameless girl found friends with her doll.

Where a boy who wanted someone to depend on him, and a girl who couldn't live by herself met.

Magari, Misuto, Hinoe… even San. All of them are here in some shape or form.

Perhaps even Sachiko is here, somewhere.

If that stupid book made it here, she probably did as well.

"Kishinuma-kun."

Shinozaki looks at me again. A smile is on her face. The same smile I remember, even after all these years.

It's bright, energetic, and not the slightest bit sad.

There's no regret there.

No worry.

All it says is 'Do your best!'; the same smile she flashed me as she left the boys' bathroom.

"Shinozaki."

I smile back.

The bullhorn blares again, and she begins to fade.

Like flower petals in the wind, she disappears.

Her hand reaches for my face, even as the fingers crumble to pieces.

Then there's only me in the blackness.

My hands fall to my sides.

I remember this place now, the void that remained after the Nirvana.

I've been using it for a while.

To train.

To experiment.

To fight.

To run.

I guess I must have gotten mixed up in some sort of Skandha-maraic* loop built from my own memories.

I scratch my black hair, having grown out the dye long ago.

Shinozaki's voice continues to ring in my ears. Her smile is burned into my eyes.

It's been a while since I experienced either of them.

Maybe this failure was a good thing. Thankfully, it doesn't seem have taken much time. If that sound is what I think it is, then the Doppler Effect** indicates that the precautions I took worked. My time is still connected to the outside. I won't wake up to the end of the world.

The bullhorn blares a third time.

"Guess it's time to wake up." Muttering to myself, I close my eyes.

And disappear.

* * *

 **A/N: Definitions for the asterisks are near the bottom. The top is mostly about "Dream Days". Questions about the stuff about Ayumi's fears are in the middle.  
**

Yoshiki really does love Ayumi. Even though I'm the one writing this, the thought kept on going through my head.

It got really hard not to just have Yoshiki break down and cry during this entire scene. I guess Ayumi tearing up in front of him sort of helped him not cry. **  
**

1 more chapter left, so only another week of waiting until this story ends.

As promised, here is the answer to when and where the "Happy Birthday Aftermath" takes place.

* * *

 **When did** **"Happy Birthday Aftermath" take place?**

"Happy Birthday Aftermath" takes place within the Dream Days setting.

The lunch menu Yoshiki bragged about to Satoshi, and Satoshi's lack of a lunch mentioned in "Happy Birthday Aftermath" were hints to 'when' the events of that chapter took place.

To put it in more specific terms, "Happy Birthday Aftermath" happened about two and a half months after the day the Kisaragi students were supposed to go to Heavenly Host.

Those two events (Yoshiki having fried shrimp (I remembered that wrongly as Shrimp Tempura, so the hint was a little off.) for lunch, and Satoshi being given a lunch box with only a note from his mother and a 1000yen bill in it occurred at Kisaragi Academy during the opening of Blood Drive.

This was hidden in there to (hopefully) confuse people when they started wondering when and where the events of "Happy Birthday Aftermath" took place.

Y'know... because the events that are mentioned are happening after the Kisaragi students went to Heavenly Host. However, Morishige is still alive, and no one seems sad about their friends dying at Heavenly Host.

 **Where did** **"Happy Birthday Aftermath" take place?**

In the same world "Dream Days" did. Ayumi puts it rather nicely. "a 'what if' of a 'what if'".

It's a sort of experiment into Chaos theory.

Chaos, in Greek, does not actually mean disorder, but "primeval void". In other words, it's just talking about the very beginning of things.

Chaos Theory, is the theory that deals with highly dynamic systems which are very sensitive to the initial conditions.

TLDR (Too Long Didn't Read) ? Basically, where you start matters when dealing with difficult things with lost of moving parts.

The world of "Dream Days" is a world where small things lead to bigger things, thus saving an uncountable number of lives. I guess, it was my way of showing how little it would have taken to avoid all the terrible things that the Yoshiki who is an adult experienced and is experiencing.

It is sort of horrific in a way. After all, what could be more nail bitingly painful than knowing just how close you were to living happily ever after. (Yes, I am a bastard who tortures his characters. Call the FCPS (Fictional Characters' Protection Service))

As for why this route can never come true... Well, there are only so many bits you can pull out from a tower before it starts crumbling down.

Oh, yeah. Yoshiki screwing up the "Dream Days"was another demonstration of that. Him being late that one moment completely ended two and a half months of peace and quiet that the dream Ayumi had unconsciously tried to preserve.

 **Is everyone alive in "Dream Days"?**

As explained in the above chapter, a few small events shifted the route that would have lead to them going to Heavenly Host in a different direction.

The removal of the event of them going to Heavenly Host also removed a couple other flags retrospectively. Hence, people like Sayaka and Naho are still alive, as well as the Byakudan high school students.

There's an OC hidden in here that's planned to appear in Aftermath (as well as a massive red herring) who led a much happier life than she did in Aftermath.

Magari's and Misuto's lives are also very different to how they were in canon.

As Yoshiki mentioned, perhaps even Sachiko is alive in that world, along with Yuki, Ryou, and Tokiko. (Maybe I'll write their stories, maybe I won't. Depends on reviews.)

* * *

 **Ayumi's fears**

Some people might be surprised about this, but I've always felt Ayumi's attitude to Yoshiki and other males in general was a bit off.

Ayumi is said to be quite distrustful of adults, especially adult males, and a lot of the teaching staff at Kisaragi besides Ms. Yui.

Whenever Yoshiki is physically close to her, she often panics and pushes him away. A lot of the times she accuses/interprets his actions as being perverted or sexual, and at one time she is truly afraid of being sexually abused by him.

Her relationship with her parents is also relatively cold, and sometimes borderline hostile.

From the above, I've had this feeling that Ayumi has a form of androphobia (fear of men) or at least a tendency to feel wary of men. I guess, phobia is probably too strong a word, and it certainly isn't strong enough to make her lose interest in boys completely, but it is enough to make her wary of them.

As for why she may feel like this... Well...

Something happened to Hinoe during her middle school years at Kisaragi. It was something that made her feel betrayed by her friends, abandoned, and completely alone. What happened is not described, but it was enough to make Hinoe want to have everyone except her family disappear (read as killed).

Ayumi and Hinoe are close, very close. I don't think Hinoe told Ayumi what happened to her, but Ayumi probably saw enough to make her understand something bad had happened.

The theory I have running in my head was that Hinoe was sexually abused, either by a male student or a teacher at Kisaragi Academy. The incident was either hushed up, or dealt with behind the scenes.

(e.g. the offender was simply transferred or sent away, not criminally charged. It has happened in schools before, and wasn't unheard of about 10 or 15 years ago. Not to mention, the entire premise of Heavenly Host is based off of a similar event.)

Ayumi's loss of confidence in her parents may have stemmed from seeing how they allowed something bad to happen to Hinoe, and not deal with the issue directly.

There's an additional reason for Ayumi to not like her father based on some head-canon I have (based on the Curse of the Shinozaki), but that's for another time. (No, I'm not going to turn her father into a pedophile, or incestuous bastard. I'm not that crass.)

* * *

 **DEFINITIONS FOR ASTERISKS***

 **Skandha-maraic*:**

Technically, this is an adjective I invented. Skandha-mara is a metaphor used to talk about all forms of conditioned existence.

A conditioned existence is one that is impermanent, insubstantial, and frustrated/suffering.

In short, it is a state of existence anyone who has not reached enlightenment is in.

It is difficult to leave this state as, although suffering exists, insubstantial and impermanent pleasures can be experienced preventing one from wanting to leave. As a conditioned state is impermanent and insubstantial as well, none of the things experienced have any importance.

If you do not realize this and follow the path of the Buddha, you cannot reach enlightenment.

In other words, Yoshiki was trapped in a loop that replicated a conditioned existence (i.e. normal life) which returned him to the time he found the most enjoyable. As you might have guessed from the end of this section, the Yoshiki experiencing this dream is older than the Yoshiki most of you have seen. Long story short, he's what Yoshiki might become in my fic.

Having survived the events of Blood Covered and Blood Drive, Yoshiki deals with the fallout of the events of Blood Drive while working to protect Ayumi as always. He's learned a lot about spiritual abilities, Reigu, magic, the Nirvana, the pillars of the Nirvana, Heavenly Host, and many of the other events/abilities that occurred before and after Heavenly Host. He became trapped in these "Dream Days" after experimenting with something important (I can't say what, because that would be spoilers.).

 **Doppler Effect**:**

It's a physical occurrence where going closer or further away from a source of a sound (Technically, any wave will do, but sound is what it's most used for.) can cause a change in pitch. (The change in pitch of train crossing sirens, and cars passing by is due to this.) It occurs because the sound waves are entering the person's ear either faster or slower than they have been emitted, thus changing their frequency, thus changing their pitch.

The above occurs due to a change in wave length which is a distance.

As the waves are going faster or slower than they should be, they sound becomes higher or lower pitched. However, speed is calculated by distance and time.

The Doppler Effect occurring here is because Yoshiki has slowed his time down. Thus, each sound wave takes longer to be perceived, therefore the sound is heard to be at a much lower pitch than it is.

This is a safety measure he set up before doing anything in this void, due to it possessing traits similar to Heavenly Host. (Actually, it's the reverse. Heavenly Host had those properties because it was in the Nirvana.)


	6. Aftermath

**A/N:** The A/N's are shorter in this chapter... Hopefully. Also, going to busy for a while, so I'll upload this last chapter ahead of schedule.

* * *

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

My watch's alarm wakes me. The smell of sweat and the sticky feeling on my skin are the second thing I notice as I return from dream land.

With a slight groan, I push off the desk that served as my pillow the night before. Back muscles sting, the ones in my neck feel like they're made of splintered wood, and my face hurts from resting on a hard surface for several hours.

"Serves me right for experimenting when I'm tired I guess..."

Really, that was dangerous. Worst case scenario, I might not have been able to wake up again.

Yawning, I scratch my head and lean back in the computer chair.

If it had gotten to that point though, I'd just re-do everything from the beginning. I might already have for all I know. The one advantage of being me I guess.

I check my watch; the numbers 6:03 blink back at me. Standing up causes my back to creak in response. Grimacing, I stretch it out and look around me.

The room I'm in was Shinozaki Hinoe's. It's mostly unchanged from when she owned it. Old books still sit on antique shelves and strange knickknacks like; a polished old globe, an equally ancient looking candelabrum, a jade dagger, and the patterned rug on the floor still remain. The only thing that's changed is the addition of a collapsible wheelchair by the bed and the computer on the wooden desk.

After stretching, I walk towards the bed. A single woman sleeps there.

"Morning, Shinozaki."

Shinozaki Ayumi, the girl I loved; now the woman I love. Her black hair is untied, and I brush a few locks out of her face. Her eyes open at my touch, and stare blankly at me. Those blue eyes don't see anything. They just opened reflexively, signifying she's awake.

"Sorry, did you want to sleep a bit longer?"

Even then, I talk to her.

I greet her every morning, and say goodnight before she goes to sleep.

She blinks, as if not really awake.

"Wait a moment, I'll get breakfast ready."

Leaving her in bed, I exit the room.

In the kitchen, I make some rice porridge. The recipe is simple, and I've had practice. I boil some rice from yesterday's dinner in soup stock made with dried mushrooms. Opening up the fridge, I shove some Japanese sweets to the side to take out a fresh pack of eggs. Cracking in a few, I sprinkle in a little salt to add some more flavor, and check the taste with the ladle I'm using to cook.

I used to avoid using the cooking utensils to check the taste, but it doesn't feel like that big a deal anymore. Besides, getting out another bowl is just a hassle, not to mention the extra dirty dishes.

Adding in a little Ponzu*, I taste it again and nod to myself. Getting a bowl from the cupboard, I scoop some of the porridge into it.

The house is quiet as I walk down the hallway; just the pat-pat of my socks against the flooring.

"Thanks for waiting." I announce as I open the door.

Shinozaki remains in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Putting down the bowl on the round table in the middle of the room, I unfold the wheelchair with a clack. After locking all its supports in place, I walk back to her.

"Time for breakfast, Shinozaki."

Pulling back the covers reveals her orange pajamas. The top button is undone, and I quickly fix that for her. I guess I must have been really out of it yesterday to have not dressed her properly. Having fixed her clothing, I slip my arms underneath her and lift her out of bed. Her head rests against my chest as I do so, and her smell fills my lungs. After seating her in her wheelchair, I drag the wheeled computer seat over and sit down as well.

"Here, breakfast. Eat up while it's warm." Saying something that a previous me would have called embarrassing, I begin to feed Shinozaki. She opens her mouth as the spoon approaches, and chews a little before swallowing by herself. At first, I took this as a sign of awareness, but there's been no further progress since then. I guess it's just another reflex, or something instinctual. I continue to feed her until the bowl is empty.

"Right, bath time then?" I ask as I put the bowl on the table.

Shoving the computer chair under the desk, I push her wheelchair towards the bath room.

Ordinarily you're not supposed to give a comatose person a bath. Cleaning is done via sponges, but Shinozaki's condition isn't exactly a coma. She can sit, chew, and swallow on her own and she doesn't need help breathing either. I would have worried about leaving her in the bath if she couldn't sit, but since she can, the chances of her drowning are pretty low.

In the bathroom, there's a chair before the sink in the changing area before the bath. Lifting Shinozaki out of the wheelchair, I transfer her over to the 'changing chair'; as I like to call it.

In the past, I almost dropped her the first time I did this. I didn't have any female friends or relatives I could ask for help at the time, and hiring a caretaker was out of the question. Still, man... that day was tiring. I couldn't fall asleep either, so I was a total wreck the next day as well.

Smirking at the bitter memory, I take off my clothes before undressing her. Collared shirt, pants, socks, and boxer shorts are buried by her; orange pajama top and bottom, a white bra, and white panties.

Lifting her up again, I seat her on the plastic stool inside the bathing area. Before her, shelves containing various bottles and toiletries sit beneath the mirror set in the wall. I shut the sliding door that separates bathing and changing areas, behind us and rest her back against my chest. The foam mat squeaks beneath us.

Putting a shampoo hat on her, I take the showerhead from its stand and twist the tap. Rivulets of water flow down her head, before being blocked by the plastic of the hat. Returning the showerhead back to its stand, I pick up a shampoo brush and bottle of shampoo. Squirting some of the silvery liquid onto the brush, I start washing her hair. I used to do it by hand until my fingers got tangled up once. I hope she didn't feel the yanking.

Once I've made sure all her hair has been lathered up, I rinse both her hair and the brush. Returning the showerhead back to its stand, I pick up a bottle of conditioner, and repeat the process. I used to only use shampoo, but then Miki scolded me when she heard about it. I have to admit, the frazzled look she was beginning to gain disappeared ever since I started using the brand Miki suggested. It's amazing how a couple split ends and a lack of moisturizing can make someone look so irritated. I swear, her usual blank gaze was starting to look like a glare.

After washing her hair, I remove the shower cap. Returning both bottles and brush to their original places, I pick up a sponge and bar of soap. I lather up the sponge. Then begin to wash her body. Her skin is smooth. The scars she used to have on her arms, legs, and neck are gone.

Gently, I rub the sponge up and down her neck and chest, before scrubbing her shoulders and arms. She doesn't respond at all. Not a flinch of embarrassment, or twitch from ticklishness. Even as I go over and under her breasts or under her armpits, she just stares at the mirror before her blankly. Soon, her front is covered with white foam, hiding the dots of pink and swells on her chest.

I wrap an arm around her chest, and lean her forward. The sponge travels over her shoulder plates, into the groove along her spine, and draws circles along the sides as I get rid of the sweat from last night.

"Phew..."

Sighing, I set the sponge aside and pick up the shower head again. The suds flow down her with the water, almost like an avalanche. I clean her back first, before doing her front. Then, I lift up one of her arms to remove the soap under it and on her sides.

Soap can damage the skin if left on too long. If I don't wash it all off, it could case swelling or irritation.

I repeat the process with the other one. Then grab the soap and sponge again. I shift Shinozaki and the stool backwards, so she rests against the wall.

My heart used to pound painfully when I did this.

I lift up her left leg, and start sponging her inner thigh. The yellow blob goes from the point the limb connects to her waist to the knee joint, and continues for above and below. She stares blankly at the top of my head, as my hands works back and forth over her skin. Once I've finished with the thigh, I put down her leg and stretch it out instead.

In the beginning, this process was almost an experiment in acrobatics. Trying to; stop her from falling off the stool, while lifting her leg up, and washing her shin started twisting both our limbs in directions they weren't supposed to go.

I bought the mat below us right after that. At least if she falls, there's something soft for her to land on.

My heart probably holds a grudge against me for all the stress I put on it that day. I swear it was threatening to resign at the time.

I finish sponging both of her legs, and turn on the shower again. Again, I rinse of the lather slowly and carefully, to make sure no soap is missed.

I carry her out once I'm done. Seating her in the changing seat again, I wrap her in one of the larger bath towels. After that, I pull out a set of underwear from one of the repurposed towel drawers. There's only the two of us living here, after all. No need for so many towels.

Drying her off, I dress her in the underwear before wrapping her in the towel again.

"Alright, I'll be back soon."

Patting her slightly damp hair, I step back into the bathing room and clean myself.

After a quick shower, I check on Shinozaki to see if she's cold. Her cheeks are still a little red from the bath, and the bath towel is still warm.

Quickly drying myself, and donning my own underwear. I lift her up, and carry her back to the room.

Seating her on the bed, I open up one of the closets. Besides the suit jacket and pants I sometimes have to wear when going to Niwa's office or a really rich client, most of the hangars and shelves inside contain woman's clothes. A lot of them belonged to Shinozaki's sister.

Picking out a shirt and skirt at random, I return to the bed.

It's times like these I regret not meeting up with Shinozaki outside Kisaragi. The only memories I have of her are of her in Kisaragi Academy's uniform or the patients robes she wore at the hospital. If I knew what she wore casually, I might have been able to pick out something she liked. However, there's no crying over spilt milk.

Anyways, I can probably buy all the clothes she wants when she comes back. I've got at least that much saved up. I think...

Having dressed both of us, I collect the wheelchair in the hallway and fold it up again. Shinozaki remains seated on the bed, staring at the wall. I sit down in front of the computer and continue with my work from yesterday.

Incident reports, client information, ongoing investigations, experiment notes, all sorts of documents clutter my screen and task bar.

Sighing, I start work with checking my e-mails. Thankfully, nothing new gets added to the 'shit to do' list I have.

Finishing up a report for Niwa on my latest run-in with the Grave, I print out the other documents and put them in plastic sleeves, before shoving them in my bag. I'll look at them on the train, or when I'm having lunch.

Saving everything, I lock the machine and set it to hibernate.

I cross the room, and pick up one of my business tools; a single Japanese katana, 70 cm in length. It's almost the same as when I first found it. The only things that changed was the addition of a button on the handle and the fact that it's completely silent.

Leaving the room, I go to the yard.

A single tree is planted there. It's a little misshapen. Branches and leaves are lopped off in random places, as if a really bad gardener had used a lawn mower to prune it. Well, I guess that's about half right. I never really had a green thumb.

Standing a few meters away from it, I lift up my weapon. Pushing the button on the handle for a split second causes two stones inside the handle to fit together. A small purple swirl, like colored smoke, starts to form in the air before me. I put the sword, scabbard and all, to my waist. Then draw.

A swift cut, fueled by the momentum of the draw, whips through the mal-formed portal.

The spiritual frame collapses. Effect and cause become linked.

*BDDZZZZZZZTTTT

Twigs and leaves splinter. Another patch of the tree tears to shreds.

An object was cut, thus a cut was performed. The only dissonance was the location and time. My spiritual technique, co-developed with Niwa Aiko. She calls it the "S slash", without my consent. The look on Magari's face the first time she took it was brilliant. The beating that followed... not so much.

I return the blade to the scabbard; the back of the blade traces the slit from the base to the tip, before sliding in. Tying the guard to the scabbard, I go through each of the forms San taught me. One after another, they flow. An overhead strike, thrust, guard, cut. Each movement drives me forward to an imaginary opponent. Every cut is from a different angle, each strike aims for a different target. This isn't practice, but a test run. My practice takes place at a different place, a different time.

I don't need perfection. All I need is possibility.

Suddenly, the doorbell ring, interrupting me mid swing.

Packing up, I call out for the ringer to wait. The katana enters its bag. The yard is hidden behind the curtains.

With the important things out of sight, I open the door.

"Good morning, Naka- Mochida-san. Thanks as always."

"No problem, Kishinuma-san."

Mochida Naomi, previously Nakashima Naomi.

Even though I'm not surprised, I still get it wrong sometimes.

"So, how is she today?" She asks as I let her in.

"She's fine. I've given her breakfast and a bath already."

"I've said before, I can do those, you know?"

"What, and let you get rid of one of my morning pleasures?"

"Kishinuma-san, that's inappropriate, you know?"

Frowning, she takes off her shoes and puts on one of the pairs of indoor slippers laid out for visitors.

"So, when do you need to go to the daycare center today?" I ask as I close the door.

"I only have an afternoon shift, so I can stay until three in the afternoon."

She steps inside Hinoe's room and bends down to Shinozaki eyelevel.

"Good morning, Shinozaki-san. How are you doing today?"

Shinozaki doesn't reply.

"She seems in a better mood than usual, today." Standing up again, Mochida turn back to me.

"Really?"

"Yup."

I look at her again, but she looks the same as always.

"Kishinuma-san help me get her into the wheelchair."

"Oh, sorry."

After putting Shinozaki into the wheelchair, I gather up the rest of the things I need for work.

"Thanks again for keeping an eye on her." I say as I put on my shoes.

"No problem." Mochida and Shinozaki are both at the entrance way, the former pushing the latter in her wheelchair.

"I'll try to be back before three."

"I'll hold you to that, you know?" Mochida pulls out her cellphone and smiles.

Kneeling down in front of Shinozaki, I place a hand on her head.

"I'll be going, Shinozaki."

Her blank eyes reflect my face.

Patting her on the head once, I stand back up and open the door.

The sun shines brightly. A few clouds whiten the sky.

Today's going to be a busy day. A day filled with spirits, monsters, cults, and conspiracies.

In the world after the Day of Darkness; a world scarred by the effects of the Nirvana and the things sealed inside it, I continue to fight for my goal.

'No matter what' was it?

Yeah, 'No matter what'…

…

…

…

The door shuts behind the man's back. Sunlight which lit up the hallway is cut off again, returning the two women to shadow.

Slowly, the woman in the wheelchair's mouth moves.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Shinozaki-san?"

The other woman behind her leans forward. She's noticed this once or twice. The brief movements the woman she looks after from time to time makes. The small movements her lips make, whenever the man who lives with her leaves the house.

 _"_ _Have a safe trip…"_

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for Dream Days.

It's not really an ending, more of another beginning or a continuation for Yoshiki.

This project was mostly me proving to myself that I could write a peaceful setting. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn't. I know I broke the horror promise to myself three chapters ago, but I think I gave it a relatively happy ending.

Ayumi's state of consciousness is up to your imagination. She could be fully aware of what's going on, and merely too weak to move, or she could just be reacting and saying things automatically without realizing.

In the end though, I don't think it really matters to Yoshiki.

He'll get her back, 'No matter what'.

 **Ponzu***

It's a sort of sauce made from citrus fruit, soy sauce, rice wine, and sometimes stock from seaweed or bonito. It's used to add sourness/tartness to a meal, similar to vinegar or lemon juice.

Oh, yah. If anyone guesses what the S-slash stands for, I'll write then dedicate a new chapter of Dream Days to them with a setting they choose. Send it to me in a review or a PM, whichever you prefer.


	7. Ex-Chapter: Another Dreamer

This story is dedicated to Secutor145. Thanks for reminding me about Aftermath's anniversary! As requested, here's a story of Ayumi and Miki meeting together.

Yes, I know I labelled it this story as completed, but the way I see it, these are just extra tid bits that don't really affect the story of "Dream Days" in general. For the people who don't read the A/Ns there's a new section called "Epilogue" to this old chapter added on after them, so at least scroll to the bottom.

* * *

My name is Kishinuma Miki. Today, I've come to see Kishinuma Yoshiki; ex-delinquent, overly sarcastic, and my bigger brother.

I try to come over at least twice a week; once on Tuesday, once on Saturday. After all, it's my sisterly, responsibility to make sure he's eating something else besides fast food and lunch boxes full of preservatives!

I walked up the street to his apartment as always, groceries in hand.

The way this usually worked was he'd either be inside at home or out at work. Thus, he'd either be surprised when I walked in unannounced, or be surprised when he finds his front door unlocked with me cooking at his stove.

However, today neither of those happened.

Why?

Because, to my surprise, he was standing in front of his apartment and saw me approaching.

I know he did, because he waved when he saw me.

And he wasn't alone.

He was with a girl. A girl with two pigtails and blue eyes.

Oh, and a big frown as well.

"So, is this her?" She said grumpily, as I stopped in front of them.

"W-well, yeah…" My brother looked strangely nervous. He turns away the moment she looks at him.

...

What is this? The atmosphere is strangely tense.

"Um… what's going on?" I ask. "Who is she?"

"Oh, right. I guess introductions should come first."

My brother seems relieved by my question.

If it wasn't for the angry aura emanating from the girl in front of me, I'd be amazed at how meek my brother had become since I last saw him. Sure, he was a bit too aggressive before, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought he should soften up a little…

"Miki, this is Shinozaki Ayumi. She's the class-rep at my school."

"Nice to meet you."

Her answer is curt. Yup, as I felt earlier, this is anger. Her name sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it.

"Shinozaki, this is Miki, my little sister."

"Huh?!"

Before I could reply, Shinozaki Ayumi's mouth drops and eyes widen.

"Umm… Is something wrong?"

She looks me once over, then glares at my brother.

"Hey! You didn't tell me she was your sister!"

"Huh? Didn't I?"

"No you didn't!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Guess I forgot."

"Ugh… I feel like a complete idiot now…"

The girl in front of me slumps a little, while my brother scratches his head as he always does when he's confused. He says he's thinking while he's doing it, but I've never seen him come up with a solution while he does that.

"Hey, brother, could you explain to me what's going on?"

"Don't ask me. I'm the one who's confused."

Yup, I can tell. You're still scratching your head.

Shinozaki…-san recovers from her slump with a sigh, and faces us again.

"Sorry for that earlier."

She bows to me earnestly.

"No, it's alright. Although, could you tell me what all that was about earlier?"

Shinozaki-san turns a little red, then sighs again.

"It's probably a long story…" She fidgets.

"You busy today?" My brother seems to have given up trying to figure out what's going on.

"Well, not really…" Shinozaki-san continues fidgeting.

…

What's going on?

From that weird atmosphere at the beginning, to this even weirder atmosphere now…

At best, I can see she's embarrassed about something; maybe a misunderstanding that my brother started. Something to do with my relationship with him…

My brother's definitely worried about this girl. Enough that his usually prickly attitude isn't getting in the way.

… I smell a mystery.

"If you're free, why not come in for lunch? It's about that time, and you don't have any other plans do you?"

"Huh?" "Eh?"

Both my brother and Shinozaki-san look as surprised as a pigeon shot by a spit ball*.

"I've got enough for three, and it should last as long as my brother keeps his appetite in check. You came here because you were worried about him, weren't you? Take this as thanks for looking after my brother at school."

I bow as the two in front of me splutter. As I get up, I send my brother a wink. He takes a moment to process it, then nods slightly.

"W-well, it's true you've helped me out a bunch at school. Plus, you came out all the way here on a weekend. How about it?"

"Wha? Wait! I really shouldn't…" Shinozaki-san waves her hands in front of her.

"Don't say that Shinozaki-san. Really, it's the least I can do for you. You know, for having to look after my troublesome older brother. So, please, please come on in."

I gently grab the hands being waved to reject my offer, and start tugging their owner up the stairs. My brother mutters something about 'a few words too many' and follows after us.

I'm not letting something this juicy get away. Also, the groceries were getting heavy.

By the time we enter the house, Shinozaki-san has stopped resisting and sits sulkily at the coffee table. I stand at the kitchen and start pulling the various ingredients out of the bag.

Today's menu is chicken karaage** with some boiled vegetables seasoned with; ginger, soy sauce, mirin***, and sugar. Oh, and some miso soup as well. Throwing in some powdered bonito soup stock into a pot, stirring once, and putting some miso paste into a pot, I close the lid and turn back to the (figurative) main dish already at the table. I have until all the pots start to bubble to dig through this one.

"So, what were you here for, Shinozaki-san? Did my brother do something bad?"

"Well, I thought he did, but it looks like it was just a misunderstanding."

She's not looking me in the eye; a sure indication of someone hiding something.

I turn to my assistant interrogator. Inexperienced as he is, his aggressive nature might make him a good bad cop.

"Don't look at me! I don't know why she was angry either."

Looks like my bad cop has become a total wimp in front of the perp. I guess, it can't be helped. He is sort of like the victim in this case. Perhaps I should treat him as a witness?

"About when did she get angry at you, brother?" Shinozaki-san starts fidgeting again. Looks like I'm on the right track.

"Huh? Hmmm… I guess, it was about lunch time this Wednesday? We were eating together and I was comparing lunches with Satoshi when she started acting funny."

"Funny?!" Shinozaki-san glares at my brother, enraged.

"S-sorry."

Hmm… the perp silenced the witness. This looks like this case will be harder to solve than I thought. Sorry big brother. I should have gotten you into witness protection before starting this case.

"Was there something strange with his lunch?"

Shinozaki-san stops glaring at my brother, and sighs.

"Your brother was comparing lunches with a friend of ours. They seem to have been doing it for a while, but it was the first time we saw it."

"'We'?"

"Our other friends. A friend of ours got some good news, but she's busy with clubs and a few other things in the afternoon, so we decided to have a little gathering at lunch." Shinozaki-san glares at my brother again. "There, a different friends had a little happening with his lunch."

"I wouldn't exactly call it a 'happening'…" My brother quips from the sidelines.

"Brother, be quiet." My brother blinks at my command. "Sorry, Shinozaki-san. So, what happened?"

Shinozaki-san sighs again. She's been doing that a lot since she got here. Is the pressure too much? Is she going to fess up?

"His mother didn't actually make him a lunch. She just put in a note and some money asking him to buy something from the school shop. He didn't make it, so Kishinuma-kun said he'd give him one of his shrimp tempura**** out of pity."

"Hm hm." I nod. Shrimp tempura? The term sticks in my mind vaguely, but I haven't finished the interrogation. We haven't gotten to the point my brother thought she started acting 'funny'. "Continue."

"When he went to give him the shrimp, Mochida-kun complimented him on being able to make anything. He started to brag, so Morishige-kun… oh, sorry. He's one of our friends that was there. Told him to show us his lunch."

"I see, is this the part where you got angry?"

"I didn't!" The perp blushes, and then starts again more quietly. "I didn't really get angry. I just noticed that the contents of his lunch box looked rather girly for him."

"Girly?" "Girly?"

My brother and I both ask the same question in exactly the same tone. Giving him a look to keep him quiet, I turn back to Shinozaki-san.

"By 'girly', what do you mean?"

"Well, it was the little things. Like the fact that; all the vegetables were cut into cute shapes, or all the sausages had been cut to look like octopuses."

"I see…"

I take a look at my brother. He is suddenly very interested at what's outside the window.

"So, what happened next?"

"The other girls who were there thought the same thing." My brother swallows nervously at her comment. "Then, one of them***** said that maybe Kishinuma-kun had gotten a girlfriend to start making him food."

"Huuuuuuuuuhhhhh?!"

"Brother, please be quiet." The ex-witness shuts his mouth, and resumes his previous activity of not meeting my gaze.

"Of course, it's not against the rules to get a girlfriend at our school. But… your brother lives alone, right?"

"Hm hm, so you thought he might be in an illicit relationship with a girl?"

"No!" Shinozaki-san rejects my statement before my brother can. "No, I didn't… But, high school students are easy targets for all sorts of people, right? So I was worried that someone might be trying to trick him by exploiting his emotions."

"Oh, I don't think there's any worry of that."

After all, I'm the one who made those shrimp tempura.

To be honest, that theory sounds a bit farfetched, even if you believe the old saying, 'The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach.'

Meanwhile, my brother looks both happy and surprised that the perp was worried about him. Enjoy that feeling while it lasts, big brother. We'll see how long that expression lasts when I pull you in for exploitation of labor and food embezzlement.

"So, what happened next?"

"I asked Kishinuma-kun about his lunch a few days later. His replies seemed suspicious, so I threatened to bring it up with the teachers. Then, he said that 'Miki' was the one who was making them."

"I see. I guess he didn't mention who 'Miki' was did he?"

"Not a word! He just said 'Miki made them' and clammed up!"

"I see. I see. And then you asked if you could meet this 'Miki'?"

Shinozaki-san nods, and I glance over at the ex-co-interrogator, then witness, now 100% criminal. He looks relieved, as if he just figured out why something had gone wrong.

Don't look too relieved, big brother.

Anyways, back to the case.

They do say 'only the guilty have something to hide'. My brother's strange behavior must have made Shinozaki-san imagine the worst.

I guess that's why she was so angry when I met her.

She must have seen me and thought I was the girlfriend that was making lunches for him. On top of that; I was a middle schooler, from a different school, and carrying groceries. She probably thought my brother was the one who was exploiting me to make his lunches. All the trust she had in him and worry that he was being tricked or something must have turned into anger at being betrayed at that point.

"Anyways." Shinozaki-san sighs again. "Now that I know that you are his little sister, my main worries are gone. Again, sorry for my earlier attitude towards you." She bows in apology again.

"It's alright, I'd be angry as well if I thought my brother was exploiting a little girl like that." I reply with a smile.

"Anyways, that's the whole story. Sorry to have worried you Shinozaki." My brother smiles at Shinozaki-san, and she sighs once before begrudgingly smiling back.

"Yes, thank goodness it was nothing serious."

"Yeah. Nothing shady or suspicious at all."

The two nod at each other, content that the mysteries they came to solve have been answered.

Sadly, there's one small detail left.

"Big brother, the food almost ready, could you take a seat?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah… sure."

Oops, I guess my curtness made him a little suspicious. Stay calm Miki. Calm. Now's not the time.

The pots are boiling. It's always nice to see the world mirroring your mood. I finish up the meal, set the table, and bring the food.

"Now, let's eat!" I sit down at the table, opposite Shinozaki-san, my big brother is in between us.

The three of us start eating.

"This is really good, Miki-san."

"Please, call me Miki-chan, and thanks! I get a lot of practice at home, and at my brother's"

"It must be tough, cooking so many times a day."

"Not really. Although, my brother eats a lot so it can take a while."

"Really? Kishinuma-kun doesn't seem like that at school."

"Really. I swear, at times he eats enough for two people."

"Hmm. I never knew that. He always eats a normal amount at lunch."

"Does he?"

"'Does he'? Don't you make his school lunches for him?"

"No, I've never made a school lunch for my brother in my life."

Both of us look at my brother. He's frozen with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

"Now that I think about it, I've never seen my brother finish a meal."

"Is that so? That's rather wasteful of you, Kishinuma-kun."

He manages to put down his chopsticks, before replying.

"W-well, Miki just never stick around long enough for me to finish. You know I get back late from my part-time job, right? She still has a curfew to keep, and can't stay too long."

"Hmmm…"

Both of us continue to look at my brother for a while, before returning to our meals. He starts breathing again the moment we do.

"You know, Miki-chan." Shinozaki-san says in between bites. "I think you're probably a better cook than me."

"Oh, don't say that Shinozaki-san."

"I'm telling the truth. I thought that when I saw Kishinuma-kun's lunch box. I mean, the reason the girls of our group started talking about it was because we couldn't believe Kishinuma-kun was better at cooking than us. I mean, he doesn't even show up for the home making cooking classes****** at our school."

"I'm not that good. Anyways, they say cooking becomes easier the more you make."

"Do you mean you getter better with practice?"

"No, no. It's about the seasoning. If you cook a large volume of food, you don't have to pay as much attention to how much stuff you put in since it averages out easier."

"Wow, I didn't know that at all. I guess it shows how much experience you've had."

My brother resumes eating, and remains silent while we chat. I catch him sending the occasional look at both of us to judge our mood.

Sorry big bro, but your sentence is in the present continuous state of being carried out.

"So, Miki-chan. What else can you make?"

"Oh, the usual stuff you'd see at home. Grilling and broiling fish, making miso soup, sautéing vegetables… oh, and of course tempura."

We both look at my brother at the last word.

He's managed to avoid looking at us by drinking his miso soup. It's pretty hot, but he continues drinking it as we watch him.

"Have you made any of those recently?" Shinozaki-san sends the sign to stop staring at my brother as he begins to turn red from the heat. The moment we stop, he puts down the empty bowl with a clatter, and glugs down the glass of water in front of him.

"Not really… Oh, wait. I think I did make tempura recently."

"Tempura? What kind?"

"Shrimp tempura."

"Hmmm…"

Again, we look at my brother. He's completely given up trying to act oblivious and just sits there. His bleached hair seems to be losing even more color by the moment, even his skin is starting look white.

"When did you make those?"

"I think it was last Tuesday. I made enough for two people that time as well."

The three of us sit in silence for a while; only the ticking of the clock, and the drip of water from the kitchen sink breaking it.

"So, Kishinuma-kun. What do you have to say for yourself?" Shinozaki-san asks my brother with a smile.

He shakes himself a little and looks at her, before swiftly turning away. The angry aura I felt earlier is raging around us again. A violent storm of emotions is hidden behind her Mona Lisa smile.

"Well, um… uh…" He scratches his head, and looks at me.

I merely mimic Shinozaki-san's smile.

Finding no refuge anywhere, he turns back to Shinozaki-san's smile, smile's back, and says, "I at least pay for the groceries?"

The sound of something snapping echoes in the room.

"KISHINUMA-KUN! ! ! ! !"

…

…

…

"Thanks so much for the meal, Miki-chan."

Shinozaki-san and I smile at each other, truthfully this time, outside my brother's apartment. The owner of said apartment stands next to me with dead eyes, staring at the ground.

"It was nothing. I'm usually cooking three portions anyways, Shinozaki-san. Oh, or should I call you Shinozaki-sempai?"

"Shinozaki-san is fine. Although, I won't stop you if you want to call me that."

"Thanks Shinozaki-san. If my brother does anything else stupid at school, don't hesitate to tell me."

"Okay, and if he starts doing something stupid at home, call me as soon as you can, alright?"

"Will do!"

"Okay then…"

She turns to leave, before turning back.

"Kishinuma-kun." My brother wakes up a bit, and looks at her. "If you really need help, come talk to me. Got it?"

He scratches his head, sighs, then nods.

"I might not be as good as Miki-chan, but I can bring some apple slices, or vegetable sticks if you need something healthy, okay?"

He blinks in surprise.

"Where's your reply!"

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Shinozaki…"

She frowns at him a little, then sighs.

"Okay then. Thanks again for the food, Miki-chan."

"Not a problem, Shinozaki-san."

"Well then, see you at school Kishinuma-kun."

"Yeah, see you."

She leaves us behind, down the street. The sun has begun to set. We met at around lunch time, but it's closer to dinner now. That's how long she was lecturing my brother.

"So, that's the girl you like, right?"

"I never said it like that."

Shinozaki Ayumi.

I wondered why the name sounded familiar.

It was the name of the girl my brother sometimes brought up.

Every time he came back in a good mood, it was usually to do with her. It wasn't anything romantic, or lecherous. They were small things, like he managed to help out something she was working on, or a project they were doing was going well. Really small things, so small that I thought he was simply happy because things at school were working out.

Except for the first time he mentioned her… The time he quit smoking. The time he started caring for himself again.

I smirk at him, and he gives me the stink eye, before sighing and scratching his head.

Looks like big bro is still pretty much out of it. He doesn't even have the strength to retort.

Well, I'd probably be in the same state if I got scolded like that.

"Cheer up, big brother. If she can be worried about you this much, you've probably got a chance."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He sighs and scratches his head again. "Anyways, how do you know?"

"Call it a woman's intuition."

"Humph." He looks unconvinced.

Seriously, after what you've been through, I have a harder time believing you can't accept its existence.

Then again… a few apple slices and vegetable sticks, was it?

Either that's the limit of Shinozaki-san's cooking skills, or the limit of affection she has for my brother.

I sigh, and look at him again.

"Anyways, don't go taking credit for other people's work, okay?"

He sighs as well, then smiles begrudgingly.

"Got it."

"Good."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading as always, and review!

This chapter was written for the 1st year anniversary of Aftermath, and is related to this fic as well. If you enjoyed this story, please take a look at Aftermath as well! It has Blood Drive Spoilers, so maybe you might want to wait until playing the game, but fav and follow it if you're interested.

Also, Infinity. I can't reply to your reviews if you don't have an account, so you'll have to be satisfied with replies in these A/Ns.

In terms of your guesses. 1) Good idea. 2) Please, I like to think I'm more creative. XP 3) Probably the closest, but still pretty wrong.

The S-slash guess dedicated chapter is still open to anyone at the moment. Keep sending your guesses in reviews or PMs. I will have to close the offer in about one or two weeks, since Yoshiki will be using it in the next Ex-chapter of "Dream Days".

Terms with asterisks* are explained below:

* * *

(to) look as surprised as a pigeon shot by a spit ball*

This is a translation of a Japanese simile. It means you look really surprised. I could have written about how Ayumi's jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out, but I didn't want to use the words bugged/bulged/almost popped out of their sockets/etc. since those are all words or phrases I'd use with a horror setting. Also, the imagery associated with them is pretty disgusting when you think about it.

chicken karaage**

Technically, it's the Japanese equivalent of deep fried chicken, but the two are extremely different. Karaage are a lot less oily due to them not being coated in batter or bread crumbs before being deep fried.

mirin***

A Japanese condiment (e.g. sauce, seasoning, etc.) Technically, it's a sort of rice wine like saké, but with a much lower alcohol content and higher sugar content (i.e. it's less likely to get you drunk and tastes sweeter). It's used to enhance flavors in cooking, similar to how wine and whiskey are used in Western cooking.

shrimp tempura****

Battered, then deep fried shrimp. The origin of this Japanese dish is actually from Portuguese missionaries.

Then, one of them*****

Three guesses, for who it is. (Well, since the only other girls besides Ayumi are; Naomi, Seiko, Mayu you should get it right... (Yuka and Yui don't count. One's a teacher, the other is a middle schooler.))

The answer is, of course, Seiko.

She was the one who started wondering if Yoshiki had a girlfriend or not.

Also, the celebration they had was for Suzumoto Mayu.

You should be able to figure out what they're celebrating, but it might be a bit odd that they're celebrating 'that' now.

My only excuse is that they kept on trying to get together after school, but couldn't find a time due to Mayu being busy and the days she was free being bad for Seiko, Naomi, and Morishige. They ended up delaying until Ayumi had enough and just decided to have the celebration at lunch time almost 3 months after the thing they were celebrating.

home making cooking classes******

The class name is often translated as "home economics" but since most of the actual lessons are less about economics and more about; how to cook things, how to iron shirts, cook food, have a balanced diet, sort garbage, get a bankbook, etc. etc. I decided home making was a better translation.

It's essentially a lesson that teaches you how to live independently, and is part of your required education in Japan until middle school.

This is probably partially why a lot of Japanese anime characters seem pretty self sufficient or ready to start living on their own. There are lessons for how to do that done since elementary school.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

...

...

...

"Mhmmm..." A feminine grumble. The groan of a high school waking up. She tosses and turns in bed, and burrows under the blankets before poking her head out again. Daylight streams in from the windows. The hands of the small alarm clock next to her bed read 6:05, far too early to wake up.

"Too early..." Mumbling to herself, Kishinuma Miki rolls around before closing her eyes again. A moments pass; the ticking of the clock and the chirps of sparrows outside the window.

Sighing, Miki gives up trying to go back to sleep. Arms throw the blankets off her, as if to vent some of the frustration of waking up.

"And it felt like I was having a good dream as well..." Crawling out of bed, Kishinuma Miki yawns and steps across the carpeted floor. Picking a beret off it, she hangs it on a coat rack with her collection. Multiple caps and hats of various colors hang like Christmas tree ornaments.

A pair of sunglasses are left on her desk. Folding them, she opens a drawer. Rows after rows of various glasses reflect the sunlight. Putting the pair into an empty slot, she slides the drawer shut and stretches.

A single laptop rests on her desk. Files and notebooks sit on the shelves beside it, along with textbooks and novels. A smartphone is plugged into the machine. Drawing a finger across the mouse pad, Miki wakes up her electronic companion. Nodding at the message, "Copying completed." she disconnects the phone and deletes everything; audio recordings, photos, and movies are swiftly removed from its memory.

Opening the closet at the foot of her bed, she takes out a change of clothing before walking out of her room.

Only the clock ticks and the birds chirp for a while. Then, the bed creaks; as if someone is getting off it.

The sparrows chirps are joined by the cooing of a pigeon.

The light from the window dims slightly, and fluttering wings sound as the birds fly away. Only the ticking of the clock remains.

Miki enters the room again, hair still slightly damp from her shower and dressed in her school uniform. Pulling out a notebook from the shelf, she taps the mouse pad again, and opens up the files she had transferred during the night. Her hands flip through the note book in the meantime, searching for the latest page. Theories and ideas are scrawled, then scratched out over and over again. Notes, rumors, and recorded conversations are highlighted and joined to related topics on both paper and machine. Months of brainstorming are recorded on the pages.

Her hand stops at a half filled in entry, and she continues her train of thought from yesterday.

An hour passes, and the sounds of her parents waking up start in the house. She quickly closes the .png files she was looking at, and puts the notebook back on the shelf. She'd prefer that her hobby wasn't known to her parents.

Going down the stairs, she greets her father at the breakfast table and moves into the kitchen to help her mother.

Breakfast is laid out and passes normally; buttered toast with a small salad and orange juice or coffee.

"I'll be going." She says back to her parents.

Her father looks at the clock.

"Isn't it a bit early?"

Her mother nods at this. "Why don't you take it easy? You came back pretty late from studying yesterday as well."

"Well, there's not much time till the exams." Miki shrugs. "I'm fine mom, don't worry."

"Alright, just don't wear yourself out." Her mother begins cleaning the table as her father goes to prepare for his own departure.

"Will do." With those words, Miki grabs her bag and walks out the door.

Outside, she breathes out deeply and slaps her cheeks. Lying to her parents was still tough, even if she had been doing it for a number of years.

Her feet take her the long way to school; the reverse direction, further into the suburbs.

As she walks, a man appears. Black bag slung across his shoulder, he blinks and sighs before walking up to her.

"Didn't I tell you to worry about yourself first?"

"Morning, Kishinuma-san!" She jogs up to him and walks by his side.

"You've got exams soon." Yoshiki sighs again. "Seriously, if you don't study hard, you're gonna end up like me."

"Self-employed, well paid, and doing something mysterious?"

Yoshiki pats her on the head. "More like exploited, blackmailed, and bullied." He smirks, then musses up her hair.

"Hey!" Miki shakes her head free from him. "Don't play with a girl's hair!"

"It's just a ponytail." He shrugs.

"Still, it's rude!" Pouting, she redoes the ponytail quickly then refuses to look at him.

The two walk down the street, towards the train station. The morning rush is begging to build, and they join the crowds of people.

"So, did something good happen?"

Miki glances at Yoshiki at his question, then turns away again.

"Why do you say that?" She counters.

"Well, you always ambush me in the morning whenever you find something big or get excited about something."

"Ambush?!"

"Yup." Yoshiki nods. "You know you can e-mail or text me those things, right?"

"You never reply though!"

"I confirm the read receipts."

"And you call that a reply?!" She glares at him.

"It's the best I can do." He smirks back. "Anyways, my contract doesn't allow me to hire a helping hand. Officially, I'm supposed to pretend to have never seen those, y'know?"

"Liar." Miki pouts again. "Niwa-san let you go ages ago."

"In name only." He sighs. "Either way, tune down the detective stuff for a bit. Things are getting rough again."

"Got it." She nods, face serious.

As they line up at the turnstile, Yoshiki's phone rings; a text message has just arrived. His eyes scan the contents quickly.

"Miki, sorry. Go on without me."

"Eh?"

"Something's come up. Go to school."

"… Got it."

She watches him push his way out of the line and out the station. A few men in business suits send him annoyed glances as he passes.

A worried look passes her face. She bites her lip slightly, then turns back to the turnstile. Passing it, she is locked into the station.

This is as far as she can go. She knows that.

The dream she had this morning passes her mind; a fuzzy image of a girl and a boy. Details are already gone, but the feelings are still there.

Her mouth moves unconsciously, whispering something; barely even mouthing the last word.

"Give it your best… _Onii-chan._ "

* * *

 **A/N 2:** The above is a little epilogue to tie in "Happy Birthday Aftermath" to the events of "Dream Days" and "Aftermath".

What were the Dream Days? Was everyone there present inside? I guess I can write about them in Ex-chapters or in a new fic.

Magari and Aiko have Ex-chapters planned for them, and so do Hinoe and Mist. I'm also considering a Morishige and Mayu Ex-chapter, simply to branch out the repertoire of characters I can portray. I guess I should put them in their own brackets, simply due to a lack of tags. Anyways, apologies for the "completed" update, but I simply wanted the story of "Dream Days" to end, and the "Aftermath" chapter seemed like a good one. These are just small snapshots of the lives of the dreamers within "Dream Days".


	8. Ex-Chapter: Hinoe & Misuto

**A/N:** PROFANITY WARNING! Misuto is in character in this chapter, and uses a lot of the terminology that he does in Blood Drive. Additionally, as this is an Ex-Chapter, I have not updated the tags for this portions. This is technically a Hurt/Comfort story.

* * *

"Misuto." A gentle voice calls my name.

"What? I'm trying to concentrate here." I keep my eyes shut.

Spiritual energy flows around me, like a gentle breeze. Want is focused and driven forward, the reasoning for my will to mold the world.

"You shouldn't force your will like that." A metal ring; the sound of cloth on metal, the sound of the silver bangle Hinoe always wears against her long sleeves. "Slowly, gently." Her voice mirrors her words. "That is how you should try to manipulate spiritual energy."

"If it goes where I want it, what's the difference?"

The two of us are sat at in Hinoe's room; the round table in between. A lesson on the usage of spiritual energy and spiritual ability is underway.

It's already past noon. A real shame. In a few hours, I'll have to go back to the facility. Still, the lesson continues.

I can feel the orange sunlight from the window behind her, even the cool patch where her shadow blocks it out.

"Misuto." Her voice is patient, kind. "Spiritual energy has the power to determine one's fate. The feelings you use to create and shape it are important, you know?"

"Fate…" I snort, and open my eyes. "Wasn't it you, Hinoe, who told me the future wasn't set?"

She nods; white teardrop shaped earrings sway. "Fate, in the sense of a destined future, is not a natural occurrence. However, a person's fate is not something like that."

Raising an eyebrow, I cross my legs and arms. "Then what is it?" The chair creaks as I lean back; balancing it on its back legs.

"It's dangerous to do that, Misuto." I sigh, and she smiles as I stop rocking the chair. "Fate is just the force that predetermines events in the future."

"Hey, did you just lose your memory or something?" My elbow props my head up as I lean over the table. "Didn't you just say that there was no such thing as a set future?"

"There is no such thing, but that doesn't mean the future is completely unchained." Her fingers reach for the globe between us, and turns it slowly until Japan points in my direction.

"For example, let's say you are here." A white finger slides down over the North Pole, then Russia, before stopping above Japan. "If you wanted to go here in the next moment…" Another finger taps the opposite side. "it would be impossible, wouldn't it?"

"What're you getting at?"

"That the future is both undetermined, and restrained at the same time, I think." She chuckles. "Although, I might not have explained it very well."

"It's overly simplified, that's what." I snort, and pull out a cola flavored chewing gum. "If I could use something like the kefitzat haderech recorded in the Talmund*, then I could around the whole world, not just to the opposite side of it." Tossing it in the air, I catch it. The gum disappears in my palm, and I open up the other. A cola flavored chewing gum sits there.

"Very good." Hinoe claps gently. "But, that is also an effect of fate."

I cross my arms again and narrow my eyes.

"In order to gain that ability; you'd have to first find the method, learn how to use it, then prepare for its use. Those actions themselves begin to determine the future you can take."

"So, what? You saying that the past determines the future?"

"In a way." She nods. "Fate is merely the name for the force that determines events in the future. If things go on from previous events, unchanged and uninterrupted, then things are progressing along the path set by fate."

"Sounds like Karma from Buddhism."

"I was thinking more of Newtonian mechanics, but both have the same concept of past actions having effects on current ones, so I guess we're both right." She tilts her head. The jade necklace she wears glints as orange sunlight halos her from behind.

"So… what's that got to do with spiritual energy?" I turn away, cheeks slightly warm.

She chuckles slightly before continuing. "Spiritual energy is generated by the act of living, but do you know what it means to live?"

"Isn't that just the three great lusts; eat, sleep, and screw?"

"Misuto." She frowns slightly, barely even creasing her brow. The slightest turning down of her eyebrows, and the loss of her smile, are all she uses to show her unhappiness.

"… Sorry."

She smiles again. "Although that saying is popular in Japan, its prevalence decreases rapidly outside of it. After all, the importance of the number three in the Japanese mindset is from the Imperial Regalia of Japan."

"You mean those three fake treasures held by the government?"

"They're said to be the originals, and it isn't a good habit to denounce from ignorance, Misuto."

I snort. Well, telling the Bambinos* that one of their precious national treasures was fake or never existed would cause one hell of a shit storm, even if most of these bastards celebrated Christmas and Obon in the same year.

"So, what does it mean to be alive then? If it isn't the basic instincts of survival, then what is it? Do we need to go higher up the hierarchy?"

"Abraham Harold Maslow and his hierarchy of needs*, was it? I'm glad you remembered that lecture."

"It was a cathartic crock of bull." A smirk crosses my face. "What does an old fart who lived a happy carefree life know about the needs of humanity?"

"Do you not like the idea of self-actualization, Misuto?"

"It's wrong." Shrugging, I lean back in the chair again. "If every person has a desire to realize their full potential, then why do people commit suicide or develop self-destructive habits?" A chuckle escapes me. "In a way, it's the same as calling anyone who doesn't have any motivation non-human."

"I wouldn't go that far, even if it isn't all encompassing in its description." She folds her hands in her lap. "Regardless, living is actually a lot simpler than fulfilling one's own wants or needs."

"Simpler?"

A nod and a smile reply. "All living things have spiritual energy, even those which do not sleep, eat, or reproduce in a sexual manner."

"Yeah, you've told me that before." Shrugging, I return to leaning on the table again. "Don't tell me that living is simply the act of living?"

"No." Her head shakes from side to side. "The question is, sadly, not that simple." She chuckles again, probably at my expression. Hinoe's always been like that, kind and cheerful, no matter what I do or say. "Inanimate objects like stones and water can also hold spiritual energy, even if they aren't alive."

"I know that." My hand starts tossing the gum that it held up in the air, over and over again. "You told me that back when you were teaching me about Reigu."

Her left hand reaches forward, catching the gum. Gentle fingers put it back in my palm, and close my fingers around it. The silver bangle around her wrist, peeks out from the folds of her sleeve. I look up at her and she smiles at me.

Familiar. This feeling… it's like the first time we met.

"Living is the ability to change fate." Hinoe breaks the silence as she pulls away from me. "If things go along as the past decrees, then humans and living creatures would be no different from natural occurrences, such as a rock-slide or the tides. However, by changing their progression, by controlling the path they wish to go, all living things change fate to some degree." Her fingers spin the globe, playfully. "The future may not be free, but it isn't set." She smiles. "As long as people make an effort, do something, or feel emotions. Then, they have spiritual energy. They have the power to go against the fate."

"Then I must have a lot of spiritual energy." I lean back in the chair, toss the gum one last time, and put it in my pocket. "I've been resisting fate my entire life."

My entire life… Yeah, that's right. Ever since grandfather broke away from the Maltuva and started the Yagoura, my life's been hell. Bastard killed his own son and daughter, my parents, with his stupid sense of justice. After he died, and they took the easy way out, I've been fighting fate. The fate of being killed by these fucking Bambinos. Setting fire to that paparazzi vulture's coat was only the first step.

"Misuto." Hinoe calls, and I look up. She pauses for a moment, then stands up. "A person's fate is unique, a path tread only by them." She walks around the table, and kneels down to my eye level beside me. "One person's resistance could be another person's compliance. If you progress along the path from the past, even if you fight the entire world, it could be the same as waking up and going to work every day."

The afternoon sun lights up her face from the side; one in grey, the other in orange. Warm light pools over her shoulder, and down her breast. A hand reaches for me, and places itself on my shoulder. Gently, it squeezes, as if saying, "Do you understand?"

"Hmph." I turn away. "It doesn't matter either way. If spiritual energy has the ability to change fate, then I'll drag my future by the hair where I want it."

Hinoe's smiles sadly.

We've had talks like this before. Over and over again, she says the same thing a little differently.

She doesn't understand. Hinoe is too gentle; gentle enough to accept a person like me from the bottom of her heart.

Something soft presses against the back of my head, and Hinoe's arms wrap around my shoulders.

"I hope…" Her breath tickles the top of my head, as she speaks. "that things end happily ever after."

My tongue clicks.

"Hey! Lemme go!" Shaking her off, I turn and glare at her.

She smiles at me. A simple gentle smile, bathed in afternoon sun.

"Shall we go to the next lesson?"

"…If you want."

She sits down in front of me again, and pulls out a couple Buddhist scrolls.

…

…

…

"Hey, Hinoe."

"What is it?" She smiles at me from behind the scroll. "Have you memorized the mantra?"

"Nah, not yet." Putting it down, I kick back in the chair again. "I just wanted to have a break, that's all."

"Alright, you have been studying for a long time." She leans back in her chair as well.

A quiet moment, only the occasional bird or car sound outside.

"This sort of feels like the times I went to visit you." She chuckles suddenly.

"You mean at the facility?"

She nods.

"You used to sit like that in front of me."

"Yeah…" I nod. "But there's no glass between us now."

"No security guards either."

"Yeah, that too."

"You used to be a lot rougher back then."

I turn away.

"I was quite surprised by some of the language you used." She laughs, and I can feel my cheeks heat up.

"Give it a rest. I said I was sorry ages ago."

"It's alright, I was never angry about that." A reassuring smile turns my way. "You really treasured that moment, didn't you?"

"What makes you think that?" I start tossing the gum up and down again.

"You still have the gum I gave you back then."

I shove the piece of chewing gum back into my pocket.

"It's not the same one, just the same brand." That was true. The original was chewed up and spat out a long time ago. "Besides, I don't really like sweet things."

She hides her laugh with her hand.

"You did slap it out of my hand when I gave it to you."

"Yeah. Then you picked it up, and put it back in my hand."

"And closed your fingers around it, was it?"

"Yeah… it was."

I turn away again, and she laughs at me. If it were anyone else, I would have smashed their jaw. Hinoe is different. If it's for her, I can be laughed at.

"Christ, you must be rubbing off on me." I mutter as I look around the room.

"I don't think so." She folds her hands in her lap again. "You just needed time to go back to who you were."

I grimace at that.

"What, weak and pathetic?"

"No… I meant…"

"I'm not returning to that."

I glare at the wall, and she stops talking.

"Weakness is a sin." The white wall becomes a screen.

A screen replaying past memories.

The cameras. The flashes. The constant changing of houses.

The mob of reporters and journalists and their endless questions.

Faces of all sorts, sizes, and genders. Fat ones, handsome ones, pretty ones… all of them baying and squealing like a horde of hungry pigs before a trough.

The old hags and bitchy wives living next door whispering at each other. Their beady eyes pointed at us like a bunch of old vultures, hungry for gossip.

The creaking ropes as mom and dad swayed over a puddle of piss; the stool they had been standing on knocked to the side.

"If you're weak, the best you can do is shut up and die."

Yeah… just like my parents.

They died because they were weak.

They let those Bambino fucks get to them.

Even if they came from a household with spiritual abilities, they let the powerless, mundane, and mass-produced kill them.

I won't be like that. I'll show those ignorant fucks the natural order of things.

"Misuto." Hinoe calls me again, and the wall is just a white wall. Her hand rests on my arm. The sound of creaking wood sounds from my hand. I've been gripping the table so hard it's about to break.

"Sorry." I let go, pulling away from her hand.

She doesn't say anything. There's nothing left to say. She already knows what happened. Hell, she's probably seen what I've seen through my own eyes.

She can't say anything to change what happened. She can't make me change my mind.

Even so, she accepts me. Even if she can't change me, she stays with me. No matter what I say or what I do, Hinoe is always there for me.

There is no person in the world like her, and there will never be a person like her.

"It's time." She stands up.

I look up at the clock, and nod. It's time for me to go back; back to the correction facility. Any longer and it'll cause trouble for Hinoe. She's the one who has responsibility over me at the moment.

I could kill all the guards, the other inmates, even the police if they sent them after me. However, the world is filled with more than enough people to replace them. It doesn't matter if I kill ten or twenty. It probably wouldn't matter if I killed a hundred.

I could probably get away with it, but Hinoe couldn't. No, she wouldn't. She accepts me, but that doesn't mean she supports me. If I kill, then I either need to kill enough people so Hinoe won't be threatened, or separate myself from Hinoe until I have killed enough people for us to be together. That's the only way this will work. So, until I can do that, I'll have to play along with the Bambinos' rules.

We leave the house, and Hinoe looks up. I feel a familiar presence at the same time.

"Sister!"

"Welcome home, Ayumi-chan."

A girl with two pigtails runs up to Hinoe, followed by a guy with bleached hair. I pop the gum I had into my mouth, and our eyes meet.

"What?"

"'What' yourself."

I snort, and make a bubble with the chewing gum. It swells towards his face, and he frowns; brow wrinkles and eyes narrow.

Fucking punk. Try and pop it again, if you have the balls.

A swell of spiritual energy builds up inside the bubble. A second bubble forms inside, and is aimed at his face. The moment he pops the first bubble is the moment he learns how painful peeling gum off skin and hair can be.

"Kishinuma-kun." Hinoe's sister calls him, and looks at him suspiciously.

"Relax, we're just saying hello."

I snort, and suck in both bubbles as well as the spiritual energy.

Pussy.

"Let's go, Hinoe."

I leave the two behind, and Hinoe apologizes to her sister before catching up.

"Misuto."

"What? Nothing happened."

We walk towards the sun. I never thought I'd feel this warm again before I met Hinoe.

"Do you not like him?"

"That punk? I'm more surprised you're letting someone like him get close to your family."

A dime a dozen high school delinquent.

Worthless.

Weak.

The same sort of gutter trash that bites the hands that feeds them, even if they don't have the strength to stand on their own. Well, I've got authority problems as well, so I can't say too much. Guess the difference between us is that I've got the power to resist, while the best they can do is backchat.

"He's not that bad a person."

"That's why I say you're too gentle, Hinoe."

Seriously, things aren't going to last like this forever. Shinozaki Ayumi is a Shinozaki. There's no changing that. Someday, she's going to be involved in the world me and Hinoe* live in.

This isn't the time to be playing around. Danger is around every corner, evil under every face. Carefree assholes like that just piss me off.

I look up at the sky; the greying blue, orange sun, and similarly colored clouds.

If that high school brat's serious about Hinoe's sister, then he needs to get his shit together.

If you're weak, you can't protect anything. No matter how much you love them, it means nothing without power.

Well, whatever happens to Shinozaki Ayumi isn't my business. I just don't want Hinoe to be hurt. If something happens to Ayumi, Hinoe will be sad. I don't want to see her cry.

I close my eyes, and then look up to my side. Hinoe walks by me, looking at the sun with a small smile. The smile she always has. The smile she gave me when I first met her. The first smile I could trust in a long time.

Hinoe saved me from hell.

That cold, silent place I got sent to after my parents killed themselves and I lit up that reporter's jacket.

The padded room they locked me up in after I tried to cleanse the other brats. Solitary confinement for a being they couldn't control.

The place where I believed in nobody; locked up, bound in a straight jacket, and forgotten.

In that place, this one woman smiled at me, and told me it would be alright.

This world is full of shit. Evil creeps along every street, and hides at every corner.

But, this person is worth saving. The one person who believed in me.

Hinoe suddenly stops.

"What's wrong, Hinoe?"

She ignores me, and looks up at the sky instead.

"Are you sure?" She asks the sky.

"Hey, who're you talking to?"

She doesn't answer me. She is no longer smiling.

"I understand." She nods.

"Hey. Hinoe. Who are you-"

A hug. A warm embrace. Kneeling down, she wraps me in her arms, and pulls me to her chest.

"I'm sorry."

An apology. Sudden. Abrupt. But… familiar.

"I'm sorry."

She apologizes again, and a chill goes through me.

Where have I heard those words? When did I hear those words?

Something warms splashes onto my shoulder. Tears. Her tears. I hear a sniffle from beside my ear.

"… don't apologize… don't say you're sorry…"

Where have I said this before? When did I say this before?

"I'm sorry." Another tear hits my shoulder.

I'm repeating something. The exact same words.

"Don't apologize!"

I hug her back. Something is happening again, and I don't want it to happen.

Ah. I know what these words are.

They were some of the last I shared with Hinoe.

But… Then… What…

"I'm sorry, Misuto."

She pulls back.

Tears run down her cheeks. Her nose is running a little bit.

This is the second time I've seen this face, even though there shouldn't have been a first.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't understand.

"I'm sorry, Misuto."

She pushes me away and stands up. I look up at her, and see the rest of the world falling apart behind her.

Buildings fracture and crumble upwards into blackness. A void shatters the world like glass, and blows away the fragments. Even though that should excite me, I don't feel anything. Watching the unfair world; the society that killed my parents and sealed me away, break doesn't make me happy.

From above and below, from left and right, the world disappears.

"I'm sorry Misuto..." Hinoe whispers as the last of the scenery goes away.

"… but it's time to wake up."

* * *

 **A/N:** Another tragic ending, I guess. Well, this isn't the end of things for Misuto and Hinoe. Feed me more reviews to get me to write faster. Currently, the view stats function on is broken, so the only way I know if anyone is reading this or not is from reviews.

Ah, also Infinity: "I think this chapter shows that things are a little bit bigger (as they always are) than what they seem to be."

Definitions below:

* * *

kefitzat haderech recorded in the Talmund*

The Talmund is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It expands a lot on the Hebrew bible and discusses a variety of subjects including; Halakah(law), Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, lore, etc.

The kefitzat haderech is the description of the miraculous travel that could be done by some Rabbis. There are three accounts of this recorded in the Talmund. It literally means, "contracting the path" and is essentially one of the older forms of the concept of teleportation. Misuto states that, if he could use it, he could travel anywhere in the world. There are other similar stories in Tibet, and the Christian bible, but I chose the one with the most foreign sounding name. Sue me.

Bambinos*

Italian for 'baby'.

Misuto uses Japanese Yakuza slang when referring to normal people. He calls them "Bambi(s)". The reasoning behind this slang is that normal people are both vulnerable and ignorant like the Disney deer Bambi, when compared to a Yakuza thug/mobster. I chose the Italian word for baby since I was looking for an American Mafia (who are originally Italian) slang for normal people. It works in that sense in that he's calling normal people 'babies'. To Misuto, there's not much difference between killing a baby and killing a normal person, the ease of killing them is about the same.

Abraham Harold Maslow and his hierarchy of needs*

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who was most well known for his theory of a hierarchy of needs. Essentially, he thought that humans have an innate will to reach their full potential. In order to do that, humans would have to satisfy lower needs in order to accomplish hire ones. Basically, what it says is you can't think about quantum mechanics, or write Romeo and Juliet on an empty stomach.

she's going to be involved in the world me and Hinoe*

Contrary to popular belief, Ayumi has already been kidnapped by the Grave of Maltuva at least once before the events of Corpse Party. If you listen to the Corpse Party: Book of Shadows Drama CD, you will learn that Ayumi was indeed being targeted for a long time because she was a Shinozaki. In that sense, Misuto's worry about her is not entirely unjustified.


	9. Ex-Chapter: Hush-a-bye, don't you cry

I wake up, and I am in hell.

Red meat presses down on all sides. Organic heat smothers me as the muscles that generate it crush my lungs.

I open my mouth, only to gargle and choke on body fluids. Blood, tears, sweat, piss, gal, stomach acid, cerebral fluid... Every excretion and secretion made by the human body flows into my mouth and nose.

The pounding of hearts, and the squelch of mucus fills my ears.

This is the Nirvana. This is where I died. The place where that shitty bitch had her pet bite off my head and dumped my corpse.

The flesh surrounding me tenses, and my bones groan. I push back with both body and spirit, but the pressure only increases. The cartilage in my joints clicks as it's compacted. Tendons creak like frayed ropes.

The memory of my head being bitten off plays again.

The feeling of barbed tongues piercing my skin, before a hundred tiny teeth gripped my skull.

The feeling of being smothered; only able to breathe in the stench of rotten meat and blood.

Powerful muscles squeezing down. My eyes bursting out of the sockets. Breaking teeth, then bones.

All of that happened in a few milliseconds. I shouldn't have felt anything. But, it hurt.

It hurt like hell.

It hurt so much I could die.

But, I'm already dead, so dying won't stop it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH, NNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

I scream.

Hate.

I won't forgive them.

I won't forgive any of them.

That shitty Maltuva bitch. Her fucking slutty pet. The Maltuva. Shinozaki Ayumi, and her Bambino friends.

All of them.

"You think you can just put me to fucking sleep, huh? Nirvana?"

The dream is still in my memories. That fake world created from coincidence and magic. A world where everyone was satisfied and content.

Even me.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST ERASE MY HATE!"

I can't stand it. I can't stand it. I can't stand it.

I can't stand that they live. I can't stand that they exist. Killing them won't be enough. I'll tear them apart. I'll take everything they love. I'll make them live through everything I have, even after I tear their shitty hearts out.

"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU! ANY OF YOU! ALL OF YOU!"

I won't forgive. I won't forget. I won't move on.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKK"

My arms push against the flesh; hands slipping against its slimy surface. The muscles in my body buckle, but I force them to continue pushing. The sound of something snapping and popping comes from my shoulder.

A heartbeat, and the meat loosens.

I push. My body slips towards the direction with the least pressure. Kicking and squirming, I move towards what I think is the outside.

Suddenly, the meat ends.

I slip out, and land on something hard, cold. I look up.

It's the void; the void that swallowed the dream world.

I turn back, and see the mass of flesh behind me. The Nirvana squirms and pulses, as if looking for something.

I smirk.

"Hah! Piece of shit! No wonder you witches got wiped out by the witch hunts. If you can't even hold me, your magic wasn't that great in the first place."

The Nirvana squelches and oozes forward. It's slower than a snail. Spitting at it, I turn and walk off into the void. Soon, the red blob of flesh turns into a dot, and then vanishes into the darkness.

I continue walking, on and on into the void. It's empty. There's nothing here. Emptiness continues on in every direction. The ground feels eternally flat, like walking on a mirror. No sound. No light. No wind. No nothing.

"You trying to bore me to death?" I mutter. "Well it ain't fucking working. YOU HEAR ME! HUH?!"

My voice doesn't echo. There's nothing for it to bounce back from.

I continue walking, on and on. Simply walking. Just walking.

Suddenly, I hear a scratching sound. My feet lead me towards it. If it's something dangerous, I'll crush it. If it's something I can use, I'll take it.

A black shape comes into a view. A human figure, dyed entirely black. Its skin, its clothes, its hair... all of it is black. Yet, somehow, I can see it. Even though it should be invisible in the black world, I can see its shape. It's like a black light in a black room. A sort of faint violet outline surrounds it, separating it from the rest of the world. It's gnawing on something in its hands. That's what was making the sound.

It stops gnawing, and turns as I approach.

I can't see its face, but the thing in its hands is clearly visible. A human skull, picked clean of all flesh. The teeth are gone, broken or chewed off like everything else that was attached to it.

A black, man-shaped, thing; hunched over the skull in its hands, glares at me with invisible eyes. Puffs of dark smoke come from an equally unseeable mouth, like exhaust from an engine.

Its hands gently put the skull down on the floor, then it lunges.

A blur. A streak.

"Kuh!"

My spiritual energy lashes out. Simple momentum. A crushing force directed downwards. The strands of spiritual energy bind together, completing the methodology for my equation. The effect starts.

Then stops.

Different spiritual energy slams into the strands. A massive wrench is thrown into the gears of my machine.

"Wha-?!"

It slams into me. Black hands grab at my face and shoulders. The smoke it releases with every breath increases as its mouth opens up.

"GUH!"

It knocks me over. This things is bigger than me. I grab its head as it races toward my face. My arms shake.

Whatever this thing is, it uses spiritual energy. Enough spiritual energy to forcefully jam up the workings of my spiritual ability. A pure brute force tactic with no thought or intellect. Instinctive. It instinctively resisted my spiritual ability.

My arms shake, then buckle, allowing its face to inch towards mine.

When I was a kid, I once saw a documentary about lions. One of them caught a baboon once. It slammed into the smaller animal like a freight train, then held it down with its front paws and crushed its skull in its jaws.

The image I saw when I was a child overlaps with my situation.

My teeth grind together.

It's stronger than me.

Fucking brilliant.

Sweat pours out of every pore, making it harder to grip the black skin. One by one, the fingers of my left hand slip. Its head draws closer. The smell of rot and blood slams into me with every breath spat out into my face.

I can't breathe. Black smoke is all I can see; the fumes that pour out of this creature's mouth.

Fingers dig into skin. Mine search for eyes, ears, a nose… anything I can either poke out or tear off. The thing's simply squeezes my shoulders harder, preventing me from running away. My legs are pinned uselessly in between its knees.

Suddenly, it pulls back. It pushes me into the ground, as it straightens its arms. Like the hammer of a gun, it pulls back.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Its head falls. I can't catch it. It's too fast, too heavy. Like a sledgehammer, a black mass hiding a gaping mouth races towards me.

My left arm moves.

*CRACK

"NGGGHHHHHHHHH? ? ! ! !" I jam its mouth with my arm, and feel something snap inside it.

"GUH?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! !"

It bites. Broken bones are crushed. Flesh splits. Blood vessels burst.

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! HNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! ! !"

It pushes down on me. Invisible jaws masticate; trying to chew apart the thing in between it and my face.

A metallic tinkle.

The chewing stops.

My arm hangs limply from its teeth as I gasp in pain.

The featureless face stares at something. Even though it has no eyes, I can feel the shift of its focus. I look at the thing it's looking at.

A silver bangle hangs from my bloodied wrist; a pretty loop of metal. Hinoe's bangle.

The things shakes its head, like a dog.

"AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! !"

I scream, then something warm slaps me in the face. It's my left arm. The weight holding me down is gone, and I push myself up.

The black creature stares at me, then quickly backs away to the skull it set on the floor. Picking it up, it turns and runs off into the darkness.

"Fuck…"

What the hell was that?

It had the shape of a man, but was definitely no longer human. Operating on instinct alone, it smashed my spiritual ability apart and almost tore off my arm. Was it some creature that lived here naturally, or some tortured soul that found its way in here like I did?

I shake my head.

That encounter must have shaken me more than I thought possible. I'm actually wondering what that thing was instead of how to kill it.

Something squelches behind me. The sound of something slimy inching its way across the ground.

Heat. The heat of something organic warms my back.

"Hmph… So that's how it is…"

I turn, and the Nirvana stands behind me; a mass of red and white muscle coated with mucous and blood. Arms, legs, hands, feet… every appendage a person could have sticks out from it like hairs, reaching and kicking towards me. Eyes open up in the flesh; round wet globes of various colors and sizes.

I start to get up. It's still as slow as ever. I can out run it. Even if my left arm is useless, I can still move faster than it.

"Kuh! Nnnnnggghhhhhhh…"

Holding my damaged arm with the other, I force myself to stand. Everything hurts like hell, but I have to move. I'm not going back. I'm not giving up.

I take a step, and another.

I can make it. I don't have to run. All I need to do is limp faster than it. I'll think of a way to get out later. I can't let it catch me.

I take another step, then something yanks on my left arm.

"UGGHHH! AUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH! AHH, AH, KH, NNnnnnnnnnnnnggghh…"

It hurts. It fucking hurts.

Whatever grabbed my arm yanked it out of the hold of the other.

Tears and snot over flow from my eyes and nose. I don't even know when they started.

My blurry vision takes in the appendage in question. My left arm is pointed at the Nirvana, as if tied to it by an invisible string.

Gritting my teeth, I yank on it.

It doesn't come free. Instead, I deafen myself with howls of pain.

The Nirvana inches closer while I shiver and sweat.

I look at the arm again.

The bones are completely broken, crushed in half by that black thing teeth. It looks less like an arm and more like a rope mad of flesh; twisted, mangled, stretched. The attached hand and wrist are all that's left of its former shape.

Something silver glints from my wrist.

Hinoe's bangle; the loop of silver she used to always wear.

It points upwards, in the direction of the Nirvana; pulling my arm with it. The Nirvana pulses, as if swallowing something and the bangle pulls.

"UGH! GUH! AUUUUUGGGGGGHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! !"

It yanks again, pulling my arm with it. The broken bones in my arm slide around, making a sound like shifting gravel.

"GUH! AAAHHHHH! UUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH! FUCK!"

My other hand reaches for the bangle; the silver circle binding me to my doom.

The last object that connected me and Hinoe...

Fingers stop, then curl into a fist.

I sense the spiritual energy; wrapped around my arm, connected to the bangle, leading into the mass of flesh before me.

I remember it. There's no way I could forget it.

"Are you… in here to?"

The flesh doesn't reply.

"Are you in here to? Huh?"

It inches closer. The fingers and toes of the many limbs sticking out of it almost touch my skin.

"ANSWER ME! HINOE!"

My voice rings into the blackness. Nothing returns.

"Shoulda figured." I mutter.

Hinoe died preventing a ritual from the Book of Shadows; she shouldered the majority of the feedback from the spell her sister cast. It's not too surprising her spirit got sucked in here as well.

I glare at the bangle; the bangle I took from her corpse when I buried her.

Memories of that night make me my teeth grind together.

Running up the mountain.

Breaking through the wards that surrounded it.

Digging through the rubble of the Shinozaki Estate.

Finding her hand from underneath a collapsed wall.

Lifting the rest of it as splinters dug into my hands, and grit dug under my finger nails.

Only to find that she had no head.

I searched through the rest of the wreckage for it, after I had finished screaming. The other cults and spiritually enlightened groups were sure to be on their way. I wasn't leaving any part of her to the vultures; to become part of their experiments or rituals.

I buried her in an unmarked grave, so nobody would find her.

She's been hurt enough by this world. At the very least, her final rest should be peaceful.

The bangle came off her wrist while I carried her body over my shoulder. I intended to bury it with her. However, after putting it around my wrist, I left it there.

The memories stop as a slimy finger brushes against my cheek. The hands and feet protruding from the Nirvana wrap around my arm; gently, slowly. Like white and pink spiders, they crawl up my limb.

"Tch... You still disagree with me, huh? Hinoe?"

The fingers and toes reach my shoulder. They slide along it, and wrap around my body and neck.

"I won't give up." I glare back at the multiple eyes staring down at me.

"I WON'T GIVE UP HINOE!"

I can't give up.

"I'm the last of the Yagoura! You can't stop me!"

I'm the last of the Yagoura; the last survivor of a clan victimized and destroyed by the powerless and weak.

"I'll slaughter them! All of them! Anyone who stands or stood in my way!"

The creeping hands wrap around my back, and hold my waist.

"I don't need your forgiveness! I don't need you to agree with me!"

I never needed those. I never needed you to support me or help me. I'll do this alone, with or without you.

"This is Justice! You got that, huh?! YOU GOT THAT HINOE!"

Justice. That's what this is. It's wrong to have the strong held back by the weak; to be beaten down and broken. It's against the laws of nature. It's against common sense; against what's right and what's wrong.

The hands pawing at my face stop. The black world swallows; an undulation across time and space. An infinite gap appears between me and the Nirvana. I watch as limbs are stretched like rubber bands; longer and longer, thinner and thinner.

The red mass disappears into a red dot with white strings, reaching for me, before disappearing.

The feelings that had flared up in me cool as the distance between me and everything expands. I merely float, useless arm still pointing in the direction of the Nirvana, in an ocean of blackness.

I sit up, and ripples spread out from me, as if I'm standing in a puddle. They move out, and new ripples emerge. Circles spread out over the black surface, and things pop up from them.

Faces. Human faces; attached to head, attached to bodies. They remain in the floor; glassy eyed, unmoving.

Bodies bob and float at my feet. A black bog filled with the corpses.

A chill goes through me, even though I should be used to the dead. Even though I'm dead as well, something freezes my insides.

Fear.

The rapid beating of a heart. The heavy panting of lungs.

They aren't mine, but I can feel them. The emotions of someone else flow into me.

Images flash in front of my eyes.

A happy family of four. A wife and two children. A stable income. A normal life.

A late night out with co-workers. The thought of being scolded by the wife. A quick short cut through an alley.

A boy with a cheap plastic umbrella, face hidden by a hood. An arm twisting off, a leg bending in half, and then the plastic umbrella stabbing through a chest; through a heart.

My chest. My heart.

My own face grins at me, and twists the umbrella. Blood floods my lungs and bursts out my mouth.

Another person's memories. Another person's life.

"Stop it."

Another family. An elderly set of parents. A new job. An annoying boss. A co-worker who's kinda cute.

A night of overtime. A phone call home to tell parents about it. The beep of an answering machine.

Finishing overtime. Returning home. A broken window. Dad with his head twisted the wrong way. Mom on the floor with her eyes bulging out; her head slightly squashed and leaking red. A boy, face hidden with a hood, sitting at the table. The crash of dishes as I'm slammed into a dish cupboard; broken glass cuts my skin. The boy walks up to me, and grins. Something snaps, and my world turns upside down.

Another cleansing. Another death.

"Stop it."

The first day of middle school. The first time of meeting friends after summer break. Running past a boy with a hood. Stopping at the crossroad to wait for the light to change back.

A sudden shove, even though there isn't anybody nearby. My body flies forward. A truck barrels towards me.

"Stop it!"

Death after death. Life after life.

The lives of the people I killed. The lives of the people I hate.

Normal life after normal life.

They pour into my head. One after another, they go into my mind.

I watch parents smile at children, kids cheering on parents, neighbors helping each other.

Teachers, salesmen, construction workers, caretakers, students…

I vomit. My body heaves.

I don't want to see this. I don't want to see their smiles. I don't want to see their kindness.

A new vision enters my mind.

The life of a girl with a family of four; a father with glasses, a mother with her hair in a bun, a little sister with two pigtails.

An ordinary life. An ordinary family. An ordinary happiness.

The girl goes to school, listens to her teachers, chats with her friends, and goes home to her family.

"Stop it…"

The girl grows up, and begins to become a women.

Static.

Static.

Static.

The memories skip, and the girl is a woman. She wears white tear drop shaped earrings, and a silver bangle. She works at an institute for the supernatural and spiritual. She goes to a correction facility; a center for young criminals. She meets a boy there; a boy with blue eyes filled with hate.

"Stop it."

She hands a piece of gum to the boy, and the boy throws it away. She picks it up, puts it back in his hand, and wraps his fingers around it.

"Stop it!"

She smiles. She says the future isn't set.

"STOP IT! ! !"

I claw at my head as Hinoe's memories play. Every moment we spent together. Every moment she spend alone. Every moment she spent with family.

"GET OUT!"

I don't want to know this. I don't want to see this.

I don't want to know their happiness. I don't want to know what they were like.

An inhumane howl. A scream of anguish and despair. My throat bleed, and my lungs burst.

I don't want to know what it's like to be normal. I don't want to know that you were normal.

The images shatter. The bodies disappear. White hands caress my cheek, arms and legs wrap around my shoulders and body. The Nirvana stands in front of me; a wall of red and white flesh and intestines. Numerous eyes blink and stare at me. Blue, brown, green, purple, red… circles of all the colors of the rainbow open and close as they watch me.

My right hand is wrapped around the bangle on my left. Gentle hands caress the backs of my palms and tickle my fingers.

"Are you in there, Hinoe?"

My knees have long since buckled. I kneel before the Nirvana like a sinner before a priest.

The numerous eyes simply blink out of order. The numerous hands around me continue caressing my skin and hair.

"I won't stop."

I look up at the mass of flesh, and it looks back at me.

"I won't stop. I won't give up."

I can't stop. I can't give up. This is all I have. This all I know.

"I won't regret. I won't apologize."

No matter what I've been shown. No matter what I've done.

Normal happiness is the illusion of ignorance; the glass dream of those who haven't met evil.

"Even if it's for you, I won't do it!"

Even if I have to bury all our memories, all our smiles, I won't accept them.

"Kill me, eat me, or rape me. Take your pick."

Or else I won't stop. I'll kill everyone who deserves to die. I'll kill everyone who killed me, even the beloved sister of Hinoe.

The hands pull. The Nirvana drags itself forward.

Even if it means I merely follow the path behind me; I won't stop hating, I won't stop cleansing.

Death couldn't erase my emotions. Love couldn't soothe my scars.

The wall of flesh dimples, then opens up. A tunnel of flesh pulses; a hungry throat. Arms push me into the hole, worm like intestines suckle at my skin.

I smirk as the Nirvana swallows me.

The world will never be normal again, too many people died for that. My unsealing of the Nirvana did its job. The doors of the spiritual world are wide open. A new power struggle will begin, and new conflicts will rise. People will suffer, and people will die.

The normal life is gone, and will never return.

Muscular walls squeeze, pushing me further into the Nirvana. It's swallowing me. Bitter and sour fluids flow into my mouth and up my nose. My skin begins to dissolve, flesh unravels, and bones melt. The body I had is digested; acid, enzymes, and magic break it down and suck it up.

All my sensations burn up, then go silent.

My consciousness dwindles. My spirit flickers.

A warm feeling, like two arms around me. A soft feeling, like the bosom of a woman. A gentle scent, a familiar scent.

Hinoe?

…

…

…

Misuto fades. His hatred buried in the Nirvana; the child that became a monster returns to sleep.

A soft hand caresses his cheek; a gentle touch filled with pity and sadness.

Hinoe's voice rings gently in the darkness.

"Become happy, Ayumi-chan."

* * *

 **A/N:** Y'know, it was probably a bad idea to ask for a Hinoe X Misuto story without asking for a specific event. The ending was the first thing I wrote, so it was bound to be tragic and horrifying.

I'd like to think that I have the full capacity to write an ordinary happy story, but I don't think I've really proven my point. I feel a bit like the Urobutcher now...

If you're wondering what the void is, it's related to Shinozaki Zaion (篠崎 罪御). Her name means (Manipulator/Controller of Sin). She's the mother of Shinozaki Seira who is the matriarch of the Shinozaki family. Zaion is the originator of the Shinozaki family, however, her own roots are unknown.

Oh yeah, the black thing is also someone you should know.

Anyways, Read and Review.

Also, my throat hurts like hell at the moment and I'm coughing non-stop.


	10. Ex-Chapter: All in a day's work

A man with black hair ends a call as he walks down a deserted street. The remains of broken buildings, left since the day the Entity Walls burst out of the ground, stand to either side of him; like the exposed ribs of a rotten corpse. Shoving a cellphone into the pocket of his brown suit jacket, he repositions the long black bag slung over his shoulder. The clink of metal sounds occasionally from the two carabiners connected to his belt.

Suddenly, he stops and massages his temples before ducking into one of the abandoned buildings. It's spacious inside; the crumbled remains of a two story house. The inner walls have all collapsed, leaving only the outer ones to sustain the remaining structure. Thankfully, there's not much left to keep up. The second floor has collapsed, turning the house into a literal shell; an object that only looks like a house, but has nothing inside.

Sighing, the man sits on a pile of rubble and stares at the doorway. A few minutes later, footsteps approach, and a man in a white uniform walks in.

"You sure took your time." The man sighs. "Were you busy resetting the ambush you had for me down the road?"

"Kishinuma Yoshiki." The man in white stands in front of him. "You're coming with us."

A sigh comes from the named man. "Talk about stereotypical." He stands up and slaps the dust off the seat of his trousers. "Do you guys do anything different?"

"Naturally." The man in white takes a step, and Yoshiki moves in the opposite direction. "The Grave of Maltuva changes all the time."

Yoshiki scratches his head. "So, why're you all gunning for me all of a sudden? Kidnapping little girls too hard for you?" He raises a mocking eyebrow.

"A change in scheduling." The man shrugs. "It has been decided it is worth dealing with you first instead."

The two continue to move; Yoshiki backing away from the man in white, a Grave of Maltuva cultist, slowly stepping further into the house.

"Your talents seem useful as well." His eyes inspect Yoshiki; a hungry look, starting from his toes and ending at his head. "Will you not assist us in our research?"

"Sorry." Yoshiki shrugs, a lazy smile on his face. "My contract doesn't allow me to accept outside offers. Plus, I bet my boss pays better than yours."

"Would you put a price on salvation?" The man in white tilts his head.

"Salvation… hmph." Snorting, Yoshiki stands still. "There's no salvation for me." He smiles to himself, as if at a private joke. "I sold my soul a long time ago." He shrugs.

Both stand still.

"Anything is possible with miracles." The man crosses his arms.

"Miracles." Yoshiki sighs, remembering the Grave of Maltuva's 'miracles'. "Don't you think you should stop relying on things like that?"

The man in white twitches. "Not rely on miracles?" He glares.

"Yeah." Yoshiki smirks. "Miracles are simply things that can't be explained by nature. In other words, it's something we can't understand." He looks the cultist in the eye. "Aren't you scared of relying on something like that?"

A whistle.

The object on Yoshiki's back moves; a slight nudge pushes the kendo bag in the way of the dart fired at Yoshiki's back.

"Guess your cat's out of the bag." He shrugs.

Glass splinters, bodies charge. Men and women in street clothes burst through the windows, all their attention focused on the individual encircled by them. One of them swings a steel bat at his head.

Yoshiki sighs as they run towards him. Then ducks.

The bat whistles above his head, followed by the wielder as Yoshiki throws him over his shoulder; into the man in front of him. A deep thump sounds as they collide, merging with the one made by Yoshiki's fist in another cultist's stomach.

Fists, feet, and weapons approach from all sides. A net of violence draws shut.

But, none of them hit.

The first blow is deflected with his left arm. Sliding the blow against his wrist, it smashes into another attack coming from the side. Leaning backwards an inch causes another friendly fire incident.

Each blow is either deflected or dodged. Each swing is sent into an ally instead of him. It was less a fight, and more a dance; a dance where only one person knew the steps.

A kick sends a man flying. Yoshiki's hand grabs an outstretched wrist, and drags the woman it's connected to in the way of a metal pipe. Vertebrae crack, and she screams, but no emotion crosses Yoshiki's face. He grabs another punch thrown at him with his free hand, and twists; throwing the puncher over his shoulder. Knees bend with the throw, dragging the woman he grabbed earlier into the floor; under his knee, breaking her ribs. The thrown man flies into the pipe wielder's face, collapsing them both.

Turning back, he blocks another fist. The arm is locked under his elbow, and he returns the favor into the puncher's midriff. He follows the blow with a tackle, slamming his shoulder into the man's chest, sending the two sliding across the floor. A metal pipe brushes the back of his head; the attack he avoided with his tackle.

Rolling over, he twists the arm he grabbed earlier. It snaps, bending backwards, like a broken twig.

Shoes scuffle the ground as he slides across the floor, gaining some distance from the main group. The remaining cultists scatter in response, covering as much area as possible. Soon, he is surrounded again, but the net is still loose. The gaps between the cultists are large.

With a cry, one charges. Yoshiki dodges him, but doesn't counterattack.

He can't. He's too busy avoiding the next cultist.

Before, when they attacked at the same time, he used their attacks against them. Here he has nothing to direct them into; no way to make them harm themselves.

A nightstick flashes past his face, and he ducks only to dive to the side; the place he stood occupies by another club. One after another, they rush him, and he dodges like a bull fighter. Their attacks don't let up, and his reactions slow. His sleeve snags on a weapon, tearing it. He spins away and the cultists, both male and female, circle him like a school of piranhas.

An unseen signal, and they move. One after another, they dive at him. His knees bend to dodge, then stop. A confused expression crosses his face, before shifting to a grimace. He changes his stance, and raises his fists; a boxing stance.

The first of the cultist reaches him, and punches. The swing nears Yoshiki's face, and a small smirk appears.

Feet scuff the ground as he jumps back, allowing the swing to whistle past his nose. His back foot touches the ground and he lunges forward. Right hook connects, smashing the man in the face, and carrying him into the second attacker.

A train wreck; the men and women from that direction pile into or trip over one other as they try to reach him.

Yoshiki's kicks the man's chest forcing the pile of bodies backwards, knocking even more people over, before swiftly twisting to the side. He brings his fists above his head, and clasps them together.

A cultist rushes up to him from behind him.

Yoshiki's hands fall. Like a sledgehammer, they smash the man into the ground.

The rattle of metal, and a black chains swipes across the ground towards Yoshiki's legs. Jumping, he lets the coil of metal links whip beneath him. The chain quickly disappears back into the crowd of people around him; like a fisherman reeling in an empty hook.

Three more cultists charge him again; two women, one man. The man slams into him. A rugby tackle that pushes him to the side, but not over.

Yoshiki's knee slams into the man's face and he spins the dazed individual into the path of the women. They knock their partner aside and charge; one from the left, the other from the right. The spark of electricity crackling in stun-guns race towards him. Catching the wrist of one, he spins under her outstretched arm, avoiding the second stun-gun aimed at his face. His elbow slams into the second woman's chest as he passes, knocking her over. A stamp to her face knocks her out, and he twists the first woman's arm behind her back. The weapon clatter to the floor, before being crushed under his heel. She cries out in pain before being dragged across the floor into the path of another cultist's blow.

Throwing his human shield into the ground, Yoshiki steps back; panting, eyes scanning for the next move.

Suddenly, the plain clothed cultists in front of him part. Yoshiki tenses.

"Raaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! ! !" The man in white appears behind him. Hidden among his underlings, the leader bursts out. Distraction successful, he swings the black chain again at Yoshiki's back.

Yoshiki guards with the bag. The chain smacks into it; the sound of metal clonking against wood. The black links quickly wraps around it, and surge around his chest like a snake.

A Reigu. Items imbued with a spiritual effect; the effect of a life, engraved into its meaning. This chain is one of them. Its function is binding. The misery and despair of the victims bound by it are engraved as a spiritual memory. Those who touch it will experience the same thing; the loss of freedom followed by the loss of life.

The leader smiles.

Yoshiki winces. The chain wraps around his arms, then slams them into his chest. The links knot themselves around him; tightening, squeezing. Grimacing, he glares at the man holding the chains.

"Those reactions don't work against non-lethal attacks, do they?" He yanks the chain, causing Yoshiki to stumble. "We know your weakness, Kishinuma Yoshiki."

"Weakness?" Yoshiki grins.

Even though his brow furrows in pain. Even though he is bound, unable to move, and surrounded by blood thirsty cultists, the corners of his mouth turn upwards.

"You don't even have an idea what a weakness is."

Chains shudder, then glow. Red, the color of the light coming from them. As if dipped in magma, they glow and warp.

"HAH!"

He rips his arms his frees, black and red links of chain shatter like glass.

Spiritual energy, the currency of fate, overflows. Effect is overwritten. Meaning is deleted. The curses of a hundred wretched souls are blasted to pieces.

The man in white pulls back, shocked. Shattered pieces of chain trail from his hand and fly through the air.

A single moment, as if the world stood still, and a cloud of dust explodes from where Yoshiki was standing.

"Wha-" The man's exclamation is cut off. The chain he holds yanks him forward. A foot slams down on his toes. Then, a fist smashes into his face, breaking his nose. As it slides past, the chain pulls him in again.

Something hard smashes into his face, an elbow. His front teeth break, hurtling to the back of his mouth. The elbow slides past his face, and grey eyes meet his.

Yoshiki finishes his one armed attack with a swipe to the side. A backhanded swing with his fist like a hammer, concussing his opponent. The blow causes the chain to be released, and he steps off the man's foot, only to deliver a kick to the midriff.

Body turns to bullet, as the unconscious man spirals into another.

"Don't show me shit that pisses me off." Yoshiki sighs, holding his head; heavy from the memories he received from the Reigu. The same events that gave it its function were transferred to his brain. The only thing keeping him sane was his familiarity with death. Being killed was normal to him. It was the only way he could go forward.

"My boss likes it when you can talk." He glares at the remaining members, stunned by this. Familiar faces from the memories stick out from the crowd; tormentors, betrayers, murderers. "I might not be able to pull my punches at this rate."

The bag shifts off his shoulder.

The ties holding it closed come apart.

The handle of his weapon slips out.

Blue. Blue light flows around him. His grey eyes close as plumes of spiritual energy twist around him like tongues of flame. Fate. Life. Probability. Possibility. They pool and swirl around him. The routes he can take, the ways he can go. All of them converge at this point.

His eyes open, and he steps forward.

Wreathed in sky colored flames, his body turns blue, almost see through.

Then, it distorts.

One steps becomes two, then four.

His image splits.

Yoshiki after Yoshiki walks out from him as he steps forward. Each image takes a new direction, a new path. One body for every opponent. They lift their weapons, wreathed in the same flames that now makes their bodies and clothes.

And charge.

Blue streaks race across the ground, leap off the walls, and plummet from above.

Spiritually enhanced limbs tear their footing and split the air in front of them.

The crack of cloth whipping through the air, as his jacket trails behind him. The crumbling of cement and wood under his feet. Those sounds are the only ones in that instant.

The first image reaches its mark.

Lifted blade races down to its target, and the image solidifies. Probability become reality, and the flesh and blood Yoshiki cuts off his targets arm. The metal sword turns back into flames, and the image fizzles out as the next probability reaches its target.

One after another, Yoshiki replaces the probabilities.

His blade cuts off limbs, stabs through organs, and severs blood vessels. One strike. That is all he can spare, all each probability can manage.

His images dodge and weave around each other and the cultists; only focused on the single target given to them.

Three images race towards five targets.

One crouches down for a moment, and shoots upwards into the air above them. Kicking off the roof, he dives past the five, and cuts off their escape.

The second image continues forward before bending backwards under a pipe swung by one of the cultists. Turning the movement into a slide, the image slips through the legs of the man behind the swinger. Yoshiki replaces it at that moment, and slits open a vein in the man's thigh. The image disappears, and the remaining two leap forward.

The one in front side steps an attack, and stabs at his targets his head. Yoshiki's blade replaces the possibility for an instant, gouging out an eye before returning to the realm of probability. Howling, the blinded man crumples to the floor, not even noticing the rest of the blue blade passing through his head, harmlessly.

The final blue Yoshiki stabs his target in the stomach. Becoming real for an instant, the blade misses all the vital organs, merely cutting through the fat and tissue in between intestines.

The remaining two barely have time to understand their situation before their hunter fall upon them. One from the ceiling which he bounced off of, another from the side. The cultists fall; a stab through the shoulder, and a missing hand robbing them of the will to fight.

The final image fades away in blue sparks. Only Yoshiki stands where he was a few moments ago; weapon undrawn, eyes closed.

A sigh. He exhales tiredly, and lowers his weapon. A hand reaches for his head and grips it. Brow furrowed in pain, he stands there with all his might. Among the bloodied bodies, he holds his head in pain; re-organizing the multiple routes he just experienced in his mind.

A slow clap, sarcastic congratulations, ring. Ignoring the groans and sobs of the defeated, a man appears. A hooded black robe hides his face and flows from his shoulders. A thick brown book is tucked under his arm.

"Impressive." He pauses to in the middle of room.

Yoshiki glances at him from the corner of his eye. "You're the fucker who keeps killing me at the ambush."

The man pauses, allowing Yoshiki to turn towards him.

"You use magic, don't you?"

White teeth gleam from the hood.

"You Grave of Maltuva groups always have a mage with them. A spy in your own ranks, so branches don't go rogue."

"I would prefer you call us shepherds." His hand takes the book out from under his arm.

"Shepherds?" Yoshiki smirks. "Where were you supposed to lead your flock to? The slaughterhouse?"

The man takes a step forward, and opens the book. "You'll regret saying that."

Yoshiki pulls the weapon to his waist, and clips the sheath to the carabiner on his belt.

The world darkens. An alien logic overflows; laws of nature and logic twist. A different perspective, a selfish viewpoint.

The man's cloak lifts, as if blown by a strong wind.

"Bring it." Yoshiki's mouth stops smiling; knees bend, eyes narrow.

Paper rattles as the book rapidly turns its own pages.

Words and letter detach, merge, and grow. A black mass of thoughts and information congeals in front of the mage.

Blackness bursts, and a monster is revealed. A living Picasso painting. A human caricature. Impossible by both biological and physical laws, its body makes no sense at all.

Bulbous eyes the height of a man reflect him, twisting his image just as much itself. A needle thin neck trembles violently, supporting the massive head.

A mouth opens. Rows upon rows of square teeth flow down a red throat. Fat lips are pulled tight by its gaping jaw.

"HMPH!" A grunt, and he spins to the side. His fist whirls around him, and smashes into the cheek of the monster. It plows past him, crashing into the floor, carving out a crater and swallowing it.

"Tch…" The mage clicks his tongue and another monster emerges. Distorted humans drip from the book like mucous and slime. Liquid bodies solidify as they land on the floor, allowing them to stand.

"So… this is the way you see the world?" Yoshiki smirks and shakes his head. "Might wanna get those glasses checked their bub." The head behind him twitches. "Or is it contacts?"

The sound of crumbling cement. The head behind him splits open.

*AWAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

A mouth hurtles towards him. Teeth, gums, and a bloody throat burst out of the skull of the head; a bloody worm made of human organs.

*AAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAGG

The monster in front of him charges. Webbed hands and feet reach for him.

Tortured screams in front and back, mouth and limbs quickly following.

Twisted flesh block him from sight. The mage smiles.

*BANG

An explosion, and a wind bursts from beyond the monsters. Flesh squelches and slides apart as red blood hisses out. The bisected creatures crash to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Yoshiki stands, weapon drawn in one hand. "Don't look so surprised." He smirks. "Magari can go at least ten times this fast."

The mage bites his lip, and the book trembles in his hand. Feverish eyes glare at him from beneath the hood.

"Ah, my bad. Knowing that a 'traitor' and a 'heretic' is stronger than you really pisses you guys off, doesn't it?"

"SHUT UP!"

The book sparks, and another layer of magic overflows. The world darkens. A sphere of shadows expands from it; past Yoshiki, swallowing the world.

"So…" The swords rises, before pointing at Yoshiki's target. "Here comes stage two." The hand holding the hilt tighten.

An explosion of flesh. A flood of blood and gristle, and a horde of monsters race towards him; a stampede of insects, worms, and people made of organs.

The sword rises above his head, and Yoshiki steps forward. A whistle and a blur. The blade turns into a semicircle of silver followed by brown, black, and skin colored streaks. The first creature, a fly with a sphincter for a proboscis and livers for eyes, splits open on one side. The blade swings again as he rushes forward. A centipede made of spines is severed in two. Every step blasts him forward past the mage's familiars. Every swing widens his path towards him.

The mage sneers, and the world groans.

Yoshiki continues charging; too fast to be attacked, and too powerful to be stopped. The monsters from behind can't catch up, the creatures on the side hit each other instead of him. Only those that stand in his way pose a threat. Sprays of blood erupt in crescent semicircles behind him.

"Kuh!" The mage raises a hand over the book and a pile on intestines erupt before him. Another wave, and the tubes of flesh writhe before becoming a wave of worms. Red, black, and purple tubes open black mouths, and flood forwards into the path of the charger.

The blur stops, after images catch up, and Yoshiki glares at the obstacle in front of him. He can't avoid it. He can't cut that many at once. A roar behind him, and his eyes look left and right. The creatures that couldn't catch him surround him. Everywhere he looks the red, yellow, and purple of raw meat surround him.

A finger lifts and rests upon the trigger on the handle. He raises his weapon and blue spiritual energy swirls around him.

A horde of worms in front.

A gang of Picasso people on the left.

A giant skinless hand, wide as he is tall, on the right.

A millipede made of limbs behind him.

His thoughts accelerate. Plans are made. An answer is found.

He kicks back, gaining distance from the worms; the threat he can't deal with. Spinning as he swings behind him, his finger pulls the trigger as the blade digs into the creature catching up to him.

A portal opens; cause and effect connect, and manifest within the boundaries. The monster freezes for a moment, then splits apart. Red jets spurt out in sequence as a thousand cuts crisscross its body. Every segment that makes it, every limb connected to it is slashed. Like a smashed statue, it crumbles into pieces.

"Wha-" The mage steps back as his creatures continue attacking.

Yoshiki turns and swipes downward. The massive hand grabbing at him touches its tip, and he pulls the trigger. The small cut widens, splitting the hand down the palm, and races down the arm; as if an invisible blade was running through it.

Two threats taken down, he streaks forward again. Picasso people are slashed apart or knocked aside, as he charges the mage again. The worms move to intercept, and he grimaces. Lips move, reciting an old mantra. A set of 9 words taught to him by an old friend.

Spiritual energy surrounds his blade and condense. Purifying heat builds before bursting into blue flames. He swings, and pours the spiritual energy that charged his limbs into his most trusted mantra.

An explosion.

Blue light turns the world black.

Hot air blasts past the mage, forcing him to take another step back. His arm shields his face as the hood is blown back.

Feeling the heat pass, the mage throws his arm down. Face twisted in rage, he sees his perception of the world broken. A clear line of black in the red, and in the middle a single man with a katana bent over and breathing heavily.

Yoshiki picks himself up, and looks the mage in the face.

"First time I've gotten this far." The man with the sword matters to himself, scratching his head.

The man with the book grimaces, and raises his hand over the rapidly turning pages of the book.

Grey eyes narrow, and Yoshiki springs forward. He leaves no afterimage. Only his limbs propel him forward. The last spurt. The final dash. He has cut through his enemies defenses, but his enemy has also removed a lot of his strength. Arms pump and legs kick. His breathing grows more and more labored. But, the distance between him and the mage doesn't grow any smaller.

Yoshiki grimaces, and stops running. He's seen his ending, and knows it's useless. The mage will win. That is the only outcome before his eyes.

Magic(魔法). The law of Mara.

The re-writing of the rules nature to one's wishes.

This world is the world of the mage. His fear of others and disgust of people is symbolized in every part of it. Everything in it is disgusting, horrid, and rotten. Humans are merely monsters carrying ugliness inside of them. Their outsides are as twisted as their insides. In this world the saying, "Hell is other people" is no longer a figurative term, but a physical rule.

Yoshiki has already seen this world a number of times. He has already been killed by it. That's why he can avoid it; why he is still alive.

The book in the mage's hand continues turning its pages endlessly, converting its user's traumas into a weapon.

Yoshiki glares at it before sighing.

"You seriously that scared of others?" He looks back at the mage.

The mage smirks, and laughs. "You can't reach me! Nobody can! NOBODY!" Spit flies with his words. Fear, disgust, and hatred swell into the book.

"True, with you shut-in that far, even an ICBM couldn't reach you." Yoshiki snorts. "You're so scared of everyone and everything, that you put an infinite gap between you and the rest of the world. Then, the Grave came to your family and took you off their hands." He sighs. "Are your parents and little brother here as well?"

The mage grimaces.

This world is the world the mage wished for. A world where everything was ugly as he believed it to be, and where none of it could touch him. But, his magic merely portrays this world, it doesn't make it. The objects here aren't made by him, merely molded into the form he sees them to be, and lashed to his will as slaves.

Sighing again, Yoshiki scratches his head. "Seriously, I don't know whether you got bullied or victimized or hurt, but this ain't forgivable."

"SHUT UP!" The man with the book roars, face almost as twisted as his slaves. "THE HELL DO YOU KNOW! NOTHING! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!"

A sad smile plays across Yoshiki's lips. "Yeah, I don't really know anything about you. Just fragments and emotions. This borrowed psychometry isn't for counselling, after all."

That ability is a weapon; a weapon to figure out his opponent. In a world where one's mind can become a weapon, understanding it can reveal a weakness.

The sword lifts again, only to be slipped back into its sheath. "To be honest, I don't even care. You're not the only one suffering in this world. You just happened to be the one the Grave could get their hands on." His knees bend, and he rests his right hand on the hilt; preparing to draw. "I could wait for you to starve in there, but I don't have the time." A small click rings as he squeezes the trigger, connecting the two stones hidden inside the hilt again. "Sorry, but I'm ending this quickly. After all, I'm not paid by the hour."

The mage sneers, and waves his hand over the book. His world responds, and its unwilling occupants collapse upon Yoshiki.

"HAH!"

A single swing. A single draw. One blade blasts out of its sheath, and shatters a portal between two alien worlds.

*SPLURT

A buzzing sound begins. The creatures around him explode; hundreds of cuts slash them to pieces.

"Wha-?!" The mage steps back.

The cuts continue. His world is sliced apart. The land of flesh spurts blood as lines appear on them like the hair line cracks on a cracked window.

"Kuh!" He puts a hand over his book. More monsters exit it, swarming towards the source of the cuts. However, they never make it. A storm of slashes rip them apart, continuing outward towards the mage.

Teeth bared, eyes wide, the hooded man concentrates on his magic; the reasoning behind his world, the logic that makes it work. The social gap he felt between society and himself has turned into a physical space separating him from everything around him. A complete shut-in. That is his true nature.

He wasn't like this from the beginning. At first, he was just your garden variety shut-in. Bullying at school followed by a lack of understanding from home caused his mind to crumble. Losing the ability to deal with the outside, he chose to hide from it completely. There, his fear of humans grew and grew, cementing itself in his mind.

His parents were desperate to get him out, but didn't know what to do. Thus, in their ignorance, they hired a counselor to fix their son for them.

That counselor was a member of the Grave of Maltuva.

Magic is distorted; the re-writing of the laws of nature. Thus, only distorted individuals can use it. The Grave of Maltuva works with both magic and spiritual abilities. But, to experiment with magic, a person capable of using it needs to be found. Thus, they use counselors, spiritual healers, and mediums to find the odd and socially isolated. Why bother looking for what you want, when your can get them to comes to you?

Convincing his parents that their child needed to be put in a facility, the boy who would become the mage was taken to the Grave of Maltuva. There, the grudges and fears he felt towards the world were grown and nurtured by the Grave. Scene after scene of human horridness were played before him. Some he was forced to watch, others he was made a participant.

A few years later, he was returned home with a single brown book; the grimoire he currently holds before him.

The mage's teeth clench, summoning up the feelings of isolation that caused him to be chosen.

As social animals, true isolation is not something humans instinctively want. A few moments alone in a day may be necessary, but the alienation of the entire world runs against instinct. However, the mage's mind no longer has those thoughts. After all, he is alone; there are only monsters in this world.

The space between the mage and the invisible blades before him grows; an endless gap between him and the cuts. However, the spreading wounds accelerate. They cross the growing distance in the same amount of time. Even though the space between them is supposed to be increasing, the sprays of blood and cracking bones do not go away.

Bearing his teeth, the mage does the only thing that his magic allows him to do. The gap widens, separating him further from everything. He retreats further into isolation; the world he sees. The distance between him and everything else grows to infinity. But, Yoshiki's attack slashes that endless space to ribbons. No matter the distance between the mage and the cuts, the time for them to reach him draws ever closer.

This is the S-slash, Yoshiki's strongest ability. An insane number cuts merely cutting for the sake of cutting done within the void of the Nirvana; a world with no concept of space or time. Where and when something happens is meaningless within that place; an infinite number of years crammed inside a single moment. The failed ark of time made by the witches that became their eternal prison. There, a single swing doesn't occur before or after another.

By smashing the portal to the Nirvana, Yoshiki connects the object he cuts to it. His swing shakes the boundary between dimensions, opening the smallest crack between them. The worlds overlap, spreading the events from one into the other. Thus, the cuts connected to his actions are released in a single moment upon the object. The culmination of an obscene amount of practice and effort, purely to perfect his swordsmanship.

The monsters he slashed only saw a brief release; a small part of the swings he stored. The events that occurred in an unknown point in time were realized in that instant. Thus, the monsters were cut to pieces with a single swing.

And now, the thing he has cut is the mage's reality.

The slashed up world is superimposed upon the mage's magic. A world on top of another world, taking the same place and the same time.

Superposition. That is what the 'S' stands for. The overlapping of two events, one on top of the other. The void of the Nirvana, filled with the strikes done by a single man, collapses on top of the mage's world. The mage cannot run, and he cannot hide. The stronger he makes his world, the further he buries himself into Yoshiki's.

"GnnnnnnnGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

Mighty winds surrounds the mage; air pushed apart by a billion blades. His robe billows around him as the storm of slashes approaches.

"DAMN YOU!"

Swearing, he slams the book shut, before brandishing it before him like a shield.

The attacks hit. Flying sparks grow into streams of lightning as blow after blow slam into the book; the object creating this world. It is a grimoire, a tome made of human skin and souls; the source of the mage's power, the reason he can use magic. He is just the mold; the one who gives the magic to shape, the grimoire is what does the magic.

"It's like a disk drive." Said Aiko to Yoshiki over the phone. "Magic is made of three parts; want, understanding, and knowledge. Want gives it shape. Understanding lays out its operational method. Knowledge provides its foundation. Without these three, magic is impossible. These new grimoires the Grave has been using take over the understanding and knowledge portions of magic. They do all the mental processing the caster of the magic would have to do, literally playing out their owner's wants. Of course, since they're all based off of the Book of Shadows, the only thing they actually work on are people's traumas and fears. In other words, the only thing they can do is to spread the anguish one feels to others. Get me one, and there's a nice bonus for your troubles. Incidentally, I've heard from someone that there's a Grave ambush team preparing to go after you in the still ruined section of the city. Spring their trap early, and collect their book."

Now, that book accepts the full force of Yoshiki's swings. The empty world full of monsters crashes against the void full of cuts.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

The mage growls. The arm holding the book shakes. Cuts and tears appear on his skin and clothes as the howling winds from hundreds upon hundreds of sword strikes scream around him. His mind struggles to understand what is going on. He commands the book to search for an answer, a method to dispel this attack. If it is a magic or a spiritual ability, then the book can dispel it. It can read the definition and the methodology, deciphering the workings before breaking it apart. However, this is neither. Each swing is just a swing. A physical force that follows the laws of nature. No magic is necessary, and no spiritual ability is required. The only thing special is the volume and the density; the number of attacks happening in a single moment, the compression of multiple cuts into a single swing. There is nothing to dispel and nothing to stop. Thus, the book finds no answer, and merely shields its master from the storm.

Cracks spread across its surface, like cement under a jackhammer. Blow after blow break it bit by bit. Chips of human leather and paper are blow away from it like sawdust. Black words spill out of it like smoke. Thoughts and concepts bleed out and splatter the mage's trousers and shoes in large drops of sticky ink.

A scream, not from the mage, but the book itself. It cries out in pain, then buckles. Its spine breaks and a deep gash opens up in the middle. The bite-mark of a Japanese blade goes half way through it, almost reaching the other cover.

The mage steps back, letting go of the broken book, and his arm comes apart. Fingers split apart as they open up, strips of flesh and cylinders of arm fall off. The cuts stop at his bicep as the magic ends. The connected worlds disappear, returning them to the abandoned building.

He screams as he clutches the bleeding stump, then something slams into him. The back of his head hits the floor. His consciousness begins to blur, before a foot stomps down the remains of his arm. Another scream followed by an even higher pitched one as something hot sears the bleeding stump shut.

"Sorry, but that's the only way I can stop the bleeding." Yoshiki steps off the mage's bicep and pulls away the red hot blade. "Since the books all busted up, I need to give that woman at least something. Can't exactly show up empty handed, even if I can kiss that bonus good bye." A tired sigh comes from him as he scratches his aching head with the hand holding the cooling katana. "Thanks to you I'm completely empty. Gonna have to restock my cuts again." He lowers the blade and glowers into the shadows. "Which is what you were waiting for, wasn't it?"

"Clever little doggie, aren't you?" A woman steps out of the shadows, a large scythe hangs loosely in her hand.

"You're the only reason Niwa would ask me to do this instead of using her usual guys." Yoshiki turns towards the woman.

Midzuki Magari smiles slowly. The doll like girl is gone, replaced by a seductive woman. Red lips part, showing perfectly polished teeth. Long blond hair flows down her shoulders and ample chest, helping her skimpy uniform cover her body. Blue eyes, opened wide, stare at him.

"You're also probably the one who informed Niwa about this thing as well." Gesturing towards the fallen grave members only widens her smile.

"That ability is annoying, even if it can't kill me." She takes a step forward. "Thanks for taking care of my little problem."

"If you want the book there's not much left." The sword lifts, and points towards her; the hilt firmly held with two hands.

"Aiko's the one who wants it." She takes another step. "I just want them to lose it. Whether it's to Aiko or to you, it doesn't matter." Her movements are silent, graceful, and powerful; like a panther or lioness stalking its prey.

"And Niwa sending me is just a bonus?" Yoshiki watches her calmly.

"Not really." She twirls the scythe lazily in her hand. "I planned for her to. After all, who else can she send that has survived multiple rounds with me?" Another step, and Yoshiki tenses. He's in her reach, her attack range. "Although, such overconfidence can be dangerous."

"God, Niwa owes me for this one." Sighing, Yoshiki closes his eyes.

The sound of wind, something rushing through the air. He opens his eyes, and the image of Magari swinging the scythe down on him is reflected in his eyes.

Sparks explode between them.

Blade scratches against blade.

Another deadly dance begins.

A duet between the sword and the scythe.

…

…

…

"Ugh…" A man in a ragged and torn brown jacket brushes some dust out of his hair as he slams the back door of an expensive looking car behind. A thick cloud of the same dust billows from the collapsing building fading away behind them.

"This real leather?" He asks the suited man in front of him as he takes a seat.

"Of course." A woman's voice answers from a TV screen. "That's a company car used for expensive guests, Kishinuma-san." Niwa Aiko smirks and brushes a lock of white hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, and with spiritual charms woven into everything in case they resist." He rests his hands behind his head, leaning back. "What sort of damage do you think that inflicted?"

"Hard to say. I've never dropped a house on someone before."

"Having a semi fall on someone from the fifth floor of a parking complex is pretty much the same thing."

"Ah, now that you mention it, I guess an accident like that did happen like that once."

Yoshiki snorts at her fake smile, and shoves a hand into his jacket. "Here." He tosses the tattered remains of the grimoire to the man in front of him. "Magari's maids took the cultists."

"I see. That's unfortunate, but not a problem." A camera whirs as it focuses on the tattered tome. "We won't be able to learn much from this, but that's fine."

"Weren't you worried about them making more of these?"

"Yes, but getting rid of this alone should slow production." The man opens a metal briefcase and locks the grimoire inside it. "After all, that's probably why Magari decided to leak us this information."

"Corporate sabotage." Yoshiki scratches his head irritably. "She used us to get rid of the Grave's new toy."

"Most likely." Aiko nods. "I guess your capture was a sort of test run for their prototype. Losing it will set them back a little at the very least."

"Figures. That mage wasn't like the others." His brow furrows at the memory.

Grave mages are mostly just observers. After all, they're just there to keep an eye on their assigned groups. Informants, snitches, spies; that's what they are. The books they usually have are thinner; their magic, less powerful. They're not meant to fight, or lead. They just collect data on their wards.

No, they don't think of them as wards. Guinea pigs. That's what they are to them. After all, most of the operations they're assigned to are field tests.

The mage he faced this time had a similar mindset to them; one that rejected other people and hid from the world. However, unlike the others, his magic did more than just hide him. It re-wrote the world according to the way he viewed it; his image.

"In what way?" Aiko asks seriously.

"It reminded me of Gore a bit."

She grimaces. "That is worrying."

"Yeah."

The two fall silent, leaving only the rushing of the tires and the occasional car passing to fill it.

"If things are that serious," Aiko breaks the silence. "Magari shouldn't be after you too soon."

He snorts. "That supposed to be a silver lining? Anyways, that's only 'cuz she'll be too busy dealing with a bigger danger. It's not that much of an improvement. I only replace Magari with the Grave."

"You have a point." She nods. "Stop by my office. There are a few other things I want to discuss with you. The ministry of spiritual investigation is making a few strange moves."

"Grave related?"

"It doesn't seem to be. The Grave wouldn't risk the amount of publicity that group is playing with."

"Got it, but I have to leave before two."

"That's fine. I'll have a USB with the relevant data ready for you as well."

The screen turns off, and Yoshiki looks out the window. The car is in the more rebuilt part of the city. Sky scrapers that were half demolished are now mostly repaired or rebuilt. The holes left by the Entity Walls were filled up about a year ago.

The world has begun to heal, but it will never be the same again. His life has also begun to heal. Old relations have been restored. The faded presence he had is gone. However, he too will never be the same again. There have been too many battle; too many scars. Staring too long at the twisted and the unnatural warps you, and his life has been exposed to those two daily for years. But, he continues on.

No matter the danger.

No matter the suffering.

Even if he won't be able to be himself.

Even if his feelings aren't his own.

Kishinuma Yoshiki will keep going.

No matter what.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter takes place a few hours after Yoshiki leaves Miki at the train station.

Also, that's what the "S" in "S slash" stood for. Superposition. It's using both quantum and particular definitions in this case. The void of the Nirvana that is filled with cuts is superimposed on another world in the particulate sense, and the actual cuts are superimposed upon each other in a quantum sense.

This chapter is just here to show off Yoshiki's planned arsenal. He has a few more toys to play with, but the ones shown here are my favorite. He'll gain a few more in the future as well.

The weaknesses of the S slash are that it's:

1) Limited in number of uses. He has to "reload" the number of cuts inside it once he uses them all up. This takes a long amount of time and effort. i.e. using this once means he has to spend a week or so to refill it to its minimum useful state.

2) Since the attacks are physical blows, anything that is tough enough to withstand being hit by it will survive. Yoshiki is a lot stronger than before, and his technique has been polished quite a bit, but using it against a building or a tank would just scratch the surface with no actual damage.

3) As the attack is connected to the object it is used against, having the ability to jump between worlds will avoid the attack completely.

4) Beings that aren't affected by physical attacks are immune to it.

Magari is covered by points 2 and 3, however, both require a lot of effort and energy to do and she'd like to use those elsewhere. The amount of energy required to physically boost her body is exponentially smaller than having to manifest her 'perceived world'.

This is also why there was that one invisible guy in Chapter 44 of Corpse Party: Blood Drive Aftermath. He was the mage assigned to that group, and had a brown book to manifest his invisibility magic. It's too bad that Magari both knows the command structure of the Grave (thus she knew there was one guy missing) and has ways of knowing things are there that don't rely on physical senses.


End file.
